AVP Story
by Kuragari1024
Summary: A girl is taken from her home to be hunted by the Super Predators, but is rescued by a very dedicated Arbitrator who has become impressed with her sheer will to live. Given a choice, she decides to remain with the Yautja and learn their ways. Not much of a title or summary, but I'll work on it. Rated M for language, violence, Sexual Situations, and anything else I can come up with.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, AVP fans! Yes, I'm back; and with a brand-spanking-new story, no less! I know it's been awhile since you've heard from me; but I've recently become inspired again after (finally) seeing _Predators_ and felt that it's high time I make my triumphant return to writing quality fan fiction. And to everyone who's been waiting for me to come back and start writing again; I'm so sorry that it took so long, but I can assure you that I will absolutely try to update this story regularly, with my infamously long chapters. I should also tell you all that I am seriously considering a complete overhaul of my _One Crazy Life_ series, as well as _Starting Over_. I welcome any comments on this decision, and feel free to PM me with them, and I'll answer any questions that I can.

 **So, first, I'll just get this out of the way…**

 **Disclaimer - I do not own AVP, Aliens, Predator, or any of that; no names, characters, locations, whatever. All that stuff belongs to its respective owners, whom I genuinely thank for their creation of such fascinating franchises. If I did own any of them, I wouldn't have to type this up at the library on a computer that's almost as old as I am.**

 **Just gotta say, I'm basing a lot of this on the canon stuff I've been reading lately; but since it's fan fiction, I'm also going to be taking some liberties and making some assumptions where I need to.**

 **Also, anyone who doesn't like explicit sexual contact between human and non-human beings, unsettling thoughts and situations, implied drug use, questionable decisions, alcohol consumption, excessive swearing, possibly unbalanced individuals, and gratuitous violence should probably go read something else; because this story is eventually gonna get weird. Weird and nasty!**

And now…

 **Chapter 1**

 **Grey**

 _Tired… So tired… Hungry… Leg hurts like hell… It's so hot, and the days last forever here… Nights don't last long, though…_

 _Feel sick, but nothing to puke up… No use bitching about it, though… Couldn't stop if I had to puke, anyway…_

 _They're behind me… Always behind me… Always watching…waiting…_

 _Just me now… Don't know how long I've been here… Fifteen of us at the start; but just me left now… Picked 'em off, one by one… Some of 'em, anyway… Others killed each other…or themselves when they saw those bodies strung up, with no skin or heads… Their problems are over…_

 _Just me now… Me and the heat…and the hunger…and no sleep…_

 _And them…_

 _Gotta keep going… Don't know where; but gotta keep moving… If I stop, they're either gonna kill me themselves or send those damn dog things after me again; but if I keep going, I'll either die of exhaustion or starvation… Choices, choices…_

 _I can't keep going…but I can't stop._

 _Sure as hell never expected to go out like this._

The lush, green jungle spread out as far as the eye could see, dotted here and there by large, claw-like structures that jutted out of the ground; some of them heavily overgrown with vegetation, which did little to mask the unnaturalness of their presence. Flowers of every imaginable color, shape and size were to be seen amongst the seemingly infinite shades of green that made up what would have otherwise have been a tropical paradise…

Save for the decidedly unfriendly local wildlife, and the three tall, dark, scaly-skinned, armor-clad, advanced technology-using, weapon-carrying, dreadlocked creatures that made the aforementioned fauna seem like lambs in a petting zoo. Not to mention the occasional corpse-or two, or five-that littered the forest floor; some of which, judging by their weapons and armor, were from different races, cultures, periods in time…even species, apparently. They had all met their end here, in this tropical hell, so very far from their own planets of origin; for this couldn't possibly be Earth.

And she would meet her end here, too; sooner or later. Of that, she was certain. But she wasn't going to make it easy.

Grey slumped against a tree, pushed a bunch of her matted black hair out of her sweating face, and let the katana fall to the ground beside her. She'd found the sword a few days before, next to the corpse of what she could only assume had once been human man. It was a decent weapon; the sheath was lying near another corpse nearby, and even a dead man's discarded blade was better than the stick she'd been carrying before; which she'd managed to fashion into an extremely crude stabbing implement by gnawing the end into a point, since the small knife she'd been carrying had been lost sometime before that. This, coincidentally, was the closest she'd come to eating in about three days.

Her stomach ached at the thought of food, and she rubbed it in a futile attempt to soothe the pain, which had been her constant companion for so long now. Though the jungle was abundant with wildlife, and several trees were practically groaning with fruit, there was no time for either hunting or gathering, much less time to prepare and eat a meal; since any prolonged stop would only serve to bring about another encounter with the alien-it had to be!-that had been tailing her for so long. Besides that, she only knew of one kind of fruit that was definitely not poisonous-at least not immediately so-to humans; and she knew almost nothing about the edibility of the various animals-could they be called animals?-that were everywhere in this place.

Forcing herself to pick up the katana, she left the tree and trudged on. Stay too long in one place, and that thing would be on her like white on rice.

 _Rice… Sensei's rice balls… Sensei… Home…_

The thought of her teacher brought a painful lump to the back of her throat, and tears stung her dark grey eyes, so that she had to try and use her filthy hand to rub them away without getting dirt in. It didn't work, and she had to stop for a couple of minutes while trying to get the debris out. A sudden rustling of the leaves of the trees high above her made her jump, and she instinctively readied the sword, though to her relief, the noise was soon revealed to have been made by one of the large insect-like creatures that might have served as this world's version of birds, and she heaved a sigh, sheathed the sword, and trudged on.

As she walked aimlessly through the seemingly endless jungle, she reflected on how she'd come to be here; or what she could remember of it.

She could recall the morning of her capture; the usual crappy day at what was supposed to be the most elite high school in the city: the final exam that Sensei had arranged that would finally earn her a black belt; finding out that said belt was the first one that her teacher had earned, and that he was passing it on to her, as he would have his own child, had he any of his own. She remembered thinking that this was proudest day of her life, and that nothing could possibly overshadow how she'd felt, holing the piece of black cloth in her hands and looking up into her teacher's face, before putting the belt on for the first time, and feeling almost like a different person…

Then a slight shimmering in the air on the other side of the room had caught her teacher's eye, and just as he wondered aloud at the phenomenon, the darkness had come.

She'd awoken on the ground, along with a group of fourteen others, in a strange, hot, jungle environment unlike any she'd ever seen on her favorite nature shows or read about in the innumerable books provided by the local library. There was, of course, some initial confusion; nearly everyone in the group had asked, at one point or other, where they were and what the hell had happened, though no one could provide any sort of answer save that they, like Grey, had been going about their affairs when they had apparently lost consciousness and ended up in this place. It soon became clear that all of the people in the group were dangerous, to varying degrees; there were a few rival gang members: about five soldiers from various countries: an amateur sniper: a pretty well-known MMA fighter: a sharpshooter from S.W.A.T.: a Navy SEAL, and various others whose professions she could not remember. The only thing that was immediately apparent was that she, at 15, was by far the youngest-and only female-member of the group; both of which were serious problems when one was in the company of strange men, some of which were undoubtedly violent and possibly unstable.

Eventually, it was agreed that the group would stick together, at least until they found out what was going on, and the Navy SEAL, acting as _de facto_ leader, had suggested heading in the direction of the nearest landmark, which happened to be one of the large, curved protrusions. As they began their trek, two of the gang members who, in their early 20s, were the closest in age to Grey, fell in beside her and jokingly said that they would act as her "bodyguards", and added lewdly that a body like hers should indeed be guarded. Noticing the 9MM that one of them carried in his waistband, and knowing that there were far more important matters at hand, she had put up with their increasingly vulgar comments and innuendo, though she had cringed when one of them had referred to her as his "future baby mama"; thinking that she would rather have grabbed the Bowie knife from one of the soldiers' belts and given herself an impromptu hysterectomy then and there than bear his dumbass offspring…

She hadn't had to put up with their company for long, however; for a sudden rustling of bushes was the only warning they'd gotten before five or six creatures resembling a mix between large dogs and mutated dinosaurs had come lunging out of the forest toward them, scattering them in all directions and chasing down the ones that were unable to get away in time. In a matter of moments, gunshots rang out in the air, though none of the creatures appeared to have been hit; but a couple of members of the group were later discovered to have been killed by the friendly fire. Screams were heard from various directions, and the entire area was in chaos for what seemed like hours, until the creatures were called off by…someone…and slunk back into the underbrush to join their unseen masters.

Now split up and running for their lives through the unfamiliar jungle, the surviving members of the group were left to their own devices…for awhile. Over the next few days, there had been deaths…so many deaths. Some of the group had been killed by some literally unseen creature, seeming to be hurled through the air, impaled, and even torn in half by invisible enemies; others had, in their time, taken their own lives from despair, or having been too injured to go on but didn't want their pursuers to finish them off, so they'd turned their weapons on themselves.

As the days wore on, Grey met fewer and fewer of the survivors, until it was only she, the Navy SEAL, and one of the gang members, traveling together through the alien world to some unknown destination. Finally, the gang member snapped, and began running around the clearing in which they were camping, shooting his gun-actually one he'd scavenged from one of the fresher corpses-up into the canopy and screaming at the top of his voice. The SEAL had tried to calm him down, but was eventually forced to shoot him in self-defense after the younger man had pointed the gun at him. The remaining pair had done their best to bury him with dignity, before moving on.

A couple of days later, while sitting around a pitiful campfire, they had heard another rustling in the bushes and, expecting the worst and with no remaining ammo, the SEAL had muttered "God forgive me…", before sucker-punching Grey on the side of her face and dropkicking her in the lower leg, then grabbing his knife and taking off into the night, screaming apologies and begging forgiveness as he ran and leaving the girl on all fours on the forest floor, spitting out blood and a couple of teeth and trying to make sense of what had just happened. She'd come across the SEAL's body later the next day, skinned and strung up just like the others. Rubbing her swollen jaw, her two missing back teeth, and feeling the pain in her leg-which must have been pretty badly injured, by how black the bruise was-she paused before the corpse, before flipping it the double bird, spitting on it, and moving on.

She had been alone then, and ever since.

It was then, it seemed, that the hunters, for all evidence seemed to prove that was what the creatures were doing, took their strategy in a different direction. Before, they had allowed their prey to make camp at night, and perhaps even collect a few fruits from the smaller trees; probably so that they could keep them alive and thus pursue them at length. Now, they were relentless in their chase; never allowing Grey more than half an hour's rest before making their appearance in some way or other; either through use of their strange, invisible camouflage, or simply watching her, completely noticeable, from the branches above, which was way more creepy than when they were lurking about unseen. It was horrifying, the way one of them would sit in a tree, silently staring down at her for a time, following her movements behind the blank, staring mask, before making a lunging motion, and then, after she had jumped and was about to run, a rapid clicking noise would sound from above, and she would look up to see the other two looking down at her from the branch above where she'd just been sitting. The rapid clicking, she was almost sure, was some form of laughter; the sons of bitches were laughing at the terror they instilled in their last remaining prey. They had done this several times now, and it seemed to be one of their favorite pastimes.

Worse was the way they never let her sleep for long. Once, she'd finally succumbed to her exhaustion and collapsed behind a large rock, hoping that if she wasn't hidden from them, at least they might cut her a tiny bit of slack and let her get a little rest, only to wake up a little while later and see one of them crouched not three feet away from her, watching without moving as she desperately looked for a way past it and out into the forest, making the clicking noise again as she ran past and leaving her to wonder how long it had been there and why the hell it didn't just kill her when it had one of its many opportunities.

A more recent "game" they had taken to was to wait until she could no longer resist the call of nature, and went into the bushes to be as discreet as possible, though there was no longer anyone around to hide from. They would then wait until she was in the middle of the process, before either jumping down from a low branch or simply appearing out of thin air a few yards in front of her, and their rapid clicks of laughter as she either splashed herself with, stepped in or fell into her own leavings, before hurriedly running off in another direction, cursing and tying to pull the remains of her pants back up around her and shedding tears of humiliation as the clicking followed her.

This had been a few days prior, and she had barely slept or stopped since then, and it was really beginning to show, in the fact that she was becoming increasingly more disoriented as time went on, and there was no denying that she stank worse than the corpses she occasionally passed.

The worst part by far, though, had to be the sheer loneliness. After so long spent alone in this harsh, foreign place, she honestly felt as though she would give anything to see a familiar face; even some of those jerks from school would be welcome now… Well, maybe not them… She would have liked, at least, to have seen something that reminded her of home; some object, however small, that wasn't a weapon or body armor, or aged almost beyond recognition or covered with the gore of its previous owner…

And so it was, with no one to talk to, Grey began to talk aloud to herself.

Part of her began to wonder if maybe she should just wait for one of the bastards to come along and finish her off…that or just off herself with the katana.

"Samurai-style." she said, a bitter smile playing across her cracked lips.

Then an image of her Sensei flashed through her mind, and she remembered all the years she'd spent training with him, and all the effort she'd put into attaining the belt she still wore over the tattered remains of her once-white uniform, which she'd been wearing when she was abducted.

"Screw that… I'm not about to die here; and if I do, I'll damn sure take at least one of those bitches with me!" she said aloud. Now, a new fire began to rage inside of her. This was a need-a primal instinct-to survive. They'd reduced her to little more than an animal; but everyone knew that an animal was at its most dangerous when it was either cornered or injured. If they wanted to go by the law of the jungle, she was going to get primal on their asses. She wanted to live; she wanted to go home and see her teacher again. This victim shit had been going on long enough!

She had reached a large clearing near a waterfall, which, under almost any other circumstances, would have left her breathless with its natural beauty. Now, however, she was in no mood for sight-seeing.

"As good a place as any, I guess. Nice view. Peaceful, even." she said, moving out into the middle of the area.

For a moment, she considered facing her opponents in what was left of her uniform; for the symbol of her dojo was still on the front, and she thought it might honor her Sensei to die wearing the mark of the place that she had loved so much and in which she had fought so hard to earn a place.

But then, on an afterthought, she decided against this; they-the hunters-had caused it to be befouled and disgusting, and not just with her own waste. It was no longer a near-sacred symbol to her; it was stained with her blood, others' blood, her shame, her fear, her doubting of her own abilities, the loss of her pride, every foul thing and experience she'd had since they had taken her from her rightful home and dumped her on this God-forsaken planet to be hunted down like an animal…

And so, she tore it off, the fabric giving way easily, after so much exposure to the elements, and tossed it into a filthy heap to one side, keeping, of course, the belt, which she quickly used to tie her filthy hair, of which she'd once been so proud, back out of her face so it wouldn't distract her during the ensuing fight.

"Heh, I came into the world naked and alone, and I guess I'm gonna leave it the same way-damn that sounded dumb. Hope I leave a pretty corpse, though." she mused, taking a moment to savor the irony.

Now completely naked, she stood boldly out in the middle of the clearing, the foreign sun warm on her body, while the breeze played lightly across her exposed flesh, feeling almost like fingers in the heightened state of awareness brought about by this final adrenaline rush. Too bad she was in such a brutal and hopeless situation; because being outside in the nude would have otherwise been a very pleasant…sensual…experience otherwise.

" _Now is not the time, perv…"_ she thought, but gave herself another couple of seconds to enjoy the sensation, before readying the katana. Though her Sensei hadn't really started training her with weapons just yet, Grey had seen enough demonstrations to at least know how to hold this most ancient of blades, and she was sure that if she swung this thing at one of those guys hard enough, she was bound to do _some_ damage… Yeah, they'd almost certainly kill her, but they'd damn sure have a reminder or two of the experience.

"Dying with my boobs out, ass in the breeze. That's alright." she said, before raising her voice and addressing her pursuers.

"Come and get me, you pricks! I know you're there! COME AND GET ME!" she roared, in the direction she'd come, knowing that this was likely the direction from which they would come as wekk.

Sure enough, it took less than a minute before the three of them appeared out of the air on the edge of the clearing, about a hundred feet in front of her. They looked at each other, and at her, and back at each other again, before the all-too-familiar clicking noise filled the air, and she knew that they found this situation highly amusing.

"Yeah, laugh it up, assholes! But which one of you limp-dicks wants to be the first one to come over here? Not afraid of a naked chick, are you? Maybe all those guns are just compensating for what you don't have going on down below!" she taunted, her rage and frustration putting rational thought in the background.

That seemed to get their attention, and the clicking stopped almost immediately, quickly followed by low, menacing growls and snarls from all three.

Yeah, that did it; if there was one way to piss a guy off… Grey supposed that a small amount of dick fear was probably present in all cultures; including non-human ones. Normally she would never have gone this route, but…

"Did I touch a nerve, boys, or just figure something out? All your big blades can't make up for the face that your most important equipment is so tiny!" she called.

This was enough for them. The largest one of the three-whom Grey supposed had to be their leader-let out a bestial roar behind his mask, before running, with surprising speed for a creature his size, across the clearing and toward his naked challenger. Grey barely had time to register this before the hunter had stopped in front of her and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground, snarling all the while.

"Big…mistake…asshole!" the girl choked, and brought the katana in an upswing, intending to slice through his innards, but instead only resulting in a rather shallow cut to his midsection, which began to ooze a bright green, glowing substance which must have been his blood.

" _Well... Shit…"_ Grey thought, as the air once again filled with the sound of clicking, as the hunter cocked his head to once side, apparently considering his prey.

It was then that his other hand, which had been free all the while, reached up and began unhooking several tubes attached to his helmet, which hissed loudly as they were disconnected. Finally, when this was done, he removed his headgear with the same hand, and tossed it aside.

"Oh, crap…" Grey muttered, staring at the creature's face for the first time.

She hadn't been expecting the face that was revealed then. She didn't know what she'd thought they looked like beneath those mask-things, but it sure as hell wasn't anything like the creature staring at her now.

A large, round forehead, sunken, merciless eyes, dry, reptilian skin of a dark greyish-black color and covered with scars, as was the rest of it's body… The thing that was most obvious, however, was the set of mandibles-that had to be the only word for them-that jutted out over a mouth full of small, sharp-looking teeth and that were tipped with long, thin tusk-like protrusions that were likely the source of the clicking she'd been hearing for so long.

It was then that the hunter opened said mouthparts wide, and roared in her face, flecking her with its saliva as it did so.

Readying herself, Grey gathered up a mouthful of saliva and returned the favor, spitting right into his face, and causing him to roar even louder in response, tightening his grip on her neck as he did so while wiping his face with his free hand.

"Ugh, your breath's worse than your face! Let me guess; your mama changed her mind halfway through the abortion?" she shot back. Grey had never known when to keep her smart-ass comments to herself; and now was no different. But either the hunter didn't understand what she'd said, or found it amusing, because he kept his tight grip on her throat.

Or, perhaps _amusing_ wasn't the word for it; for when he next spread those unsettling mandibles of his, his face drew even closer to hers, and she tried to lean away from him, but his grip was firm. A moment later, she felt his tusks lightly touching her flesh, followed by the horrible sensation of his strangely long, pinkish-grey tongue making its way from her collarbone up to her cheek, before being disappearing back into his mouth, as his dull reddish-brown eyes continued to stare unblinkingly at her.

This was immediately followed by her awareness that his other hand-the one that was gripping her neck, was slowly making small circles as it made way down the side of her body, trailing his clawed fingers lightly over her skin, down her side, to her thigh, moving toward…

"Oh, _hell_ no!" she yelped, putting two and two together.

Leaning back as far as she could, she gathered all the strength she could, and brought her head forward, as hard as she could, into his, before bringing one of her dangling legs up, hard, to knee him right in the gut.

It hurt like hell, but it worked, and he dropped her almost immediately, roaring in pain and cupping both of his hands over his face, his eyes screwed up tight and visibly watering a bit.

Once again came the clicking of mandibles, but this time, it wasn't the big one who was laughing. She guessed his friends found his little attempt at romance pretty damn funny.

Grey took this opportunity to shake off the fall to the ground, grab up her sword, and scurry a little further away, before standing up and re-taking her stance.

That was just as well; for the biggest hunter was recovering quickly from Grey's surprise attack, and had taken his hands away from his face, which Grey saw, to her immense satisfaction was actually bleeding more than the wound to his midsection; and indeed, one of his mandibles did seem to be broken and sticking out a little differently from the others. A stinging sensation in her face made her reach up a moment later, and she saw that there was quite a bit of blood-his and hers-on her own face. She supposed one of his tusks must have caught her when their heads connected. Oh, well; a small price to pay, she reasoned.

"And I still look better than you." she said, wiping her face and glaring at her opponent.

All pretenses gone now, the hunter looked once again in Grey's direction, this time growling far more menacingly than he had before. Playtime was over, and he demonstrated this by aiming his shoulder-mounted energy gun and firing a blue bolt in her direction.

It was on that day that Grey began to believe, for the first time in her life, that some higher force did indeed exist in the universe; for only the intervention of some divine being could have allowed her to dodge the burning bolt that emanated from the bleeding hunter's gun, as well as the several that followed, although there were several near-misses, and from a couple of feet away, the intense heat from the projectile blasts seared her unprotected flesh, making her bite her lower lip in pain.

Still, she was not beaten just yet.

In his rage, the hunter had failed to notice that his quarry had been dodging his attacks in a wide circle, keeping a close eye on the two behind her, who, it seemed, were far more intent on watching this fight than joining in. Finally, she was close enough, and took her chance to take a run at him, hoping that he would be too distracted by her near-suicidal rush to react…

Luck was again, miraculously, on her side; and as closed her eyes as she neared him, she put all of her weight-which wasn't a great deal to begin with, but was surely much less since her arrival here-into the sword, and lunged…

A roar of agony split the air, almost bursting Grey's eardrums, but filling her with joy as well; for she knew that her plan had succeeded. Driving the sword even deeper into her opponent's body, she tried to brace herself as he began to thrash around violently, all the while roaring in pain. Grey felt a snap, and upon looking down discovered that her sword had broken clean into; and upon quick inspection noticed that there was about an inch of the top half sticking out of the writhing hunter's abdomen, though it was quickly obscured by his luminescent blood and his hands as he tried desperately to pull it out. With a little more luck, all his thrashing about would cause the broken blade within him to do even more damage to his insides, ending him quicker; for as much pain and humiliation as he'd caused her, and as cruel, ruthless (and horny, apparently) as he was, Grey had never liked to see any creature suffer, and he was no exception.

Finally, her chance arrived, and as the hunter paused to catch his breath, blood spurting from his mandibles and abdomen, Grey rushed forward, raised the remaining portion of the katana above his neck, and brought it down with the remainder of her strength, severing the dying hunter's head and putting him out of his misery…and hers.

The head rolled away across the clearing, as the body continued to spasm occasionally. Grey sighed and slumped down next to the corpse of her fallen enemy, panting heavily from the momentous effort of the battle, on top of her lack of sleep and that distinct possibility that she was slowly starving to death.

The snapping of twigs behind her made her turn quickly around, and she realized a with mounting despair that she had forgotten the other two members of the hunting party, who, seeing that their leader was no more, had begun to approach the naked human sitting beside his corpse.

Grey, knowing that there was no way that she could win against two of them at once-and she was pretty sure they weren't going to fight fair-let out a primal scream of frustration and rage and, picking up the broken sword, jumped up, ready to die on her feet with the knowledge that she'd ended at least one of these turds.

One of the pair, who seemed to have on more armor than the others, pulled out some sort of device, the function of which Grey had no idea, until half a dozen of the dog-dinosaur things appeared out of the brush around the clearing, snarling and advancing on her slowly, along with their masters. This was it; this was how she was going to die…

Bracing herself, Grey prepared for a particularly painful demise, as one of the dog-things drew closer than the others and crouched low to the ground…then sprang viciously toward her.

But it never made it. Right at the last second, mere inches from sinking its teeth into its victim, the thing was suddenly swept off course by what had to be another one of those energy bolts. Foul-smelling goo and bits of the creature's flesh and organs splattered everywhere, a generous amount of it landing all over Grey, who gave an "Ugh!" of revulsion.

The creature fell to the ground a few feet away, with a massive hole blasted clear through it, twitching a bit, and filling the clearing with the stench of its insides and burning flesh.

"The hell…?" the human muttered, quickly pushing some of the goo-matted hair out of her face. Looking around toward the two hunters, wondering for a moment if one of them had, for whatever reason, shot their own hunting dog, but neither one of their guns was raised, and they, too, were looking around, obviously as confused as their intended victim.

Another bolt came out of nowhere, and another, and another, until finally, all of the canid creatures lay, dead and stinking, on the ground, with their masters still looking around, almost comically confused, for the attacker.

They didn't have to look long; for a moment after the last one of the "dogs" had been slain, yet another hunter appeared out of the air in front of the three combatants.

This one looked similar to the three; he was tall, with the same skin coloration, but a different texture, and was wearing what looked like similar armor; but his was of a dull silver color, and his "dreadlocks", or whatever they were, were longer, decorated with many silver rings and a few small ornaments, and not nearly as swept-back looking as the others. His bearing seemed different, too; and there was a decidedly different feel to his presence that made the other two visibly uneasy.

He roared behind his mask, and this was all it took for one of the other hunters-the one who commanded the dogs-to turn around and try to run for the safety of the forest, leaving his companion to fend for himself against the newcomer.

The same quickly pulled out what looked like some kind of shuriken, but with many long, serrated, fan-like blades around the circumference, and threw it with almost unnatural force at the hunter that was still standing in the clearing. He was dead before could act; impaled through the throat by the weapon, the force of the throw knocking him backwards several feet and into a tree, into the trunk of which the shuriken stuck, pinning his lifeless body to it, as his neon blood flowed freely onto the ground.

The remaining hunter, who had been momentarily stunned by the other's demise, again turned and tried to run; but the newcomer was too quick for him. In a few bounds, he had crossed the clearing, stepping on the head of one of the canid creatures and crushing its skull with his bare foot, and leapt in front of the retreating one.

This one fared no better than his hunting partner.

Reaching behind himself, the newcomer retrieved a long, shining sword of his own and, with incredible speed and grace, plunged it into the lower abdomen of his foe, before bringing it up with seemingly little effort in a vertical slash that ended at the base of the other's throat, spilling torrents of green blood, along with various alien organs and other fluids as it went.

Grey didn't have much time for admiration, however, as she realized that, if this new guy could do that to two others of his own kind, she didn't stand chance against him. Even if her sword hadn't been broken, even if she'd had some of the guns she'd seen on several of the bodies lying here and there along her trek through the jungle, she doubted that she would be able to use any of them to any real effect before she met the same fate as the other two. It was evident now that the big guy now inspecting the hunter now stuck to the tree was in an entirely different class from his counterparts.

A sudden noise caught her attention, and she turned to see the new hunter removing his shuriken from his fallen adversary's corpse and hauling him to the ground, before turning him over and pulling from a sheath on his leather belt an ornate dagger, with which he made a deep slice in the other's back and, reaching in with unnerving skill, ripped out the entire spinal column and skull of his enemy, holding it up and roaring in triumph at his grisly memento. This was a sight that Grey was treated to once again, when the new guy went over to the disemboweled hunter and did the same to him as he had the first one, placing the skull and spine-wet with blood and covered in what may have been nerves, veins, flesh and the like-next to the previous one. Vaguely Grey wondered if the same had been done to the several headless bodies she'd seen while on this world. Were they, perhaps, in some kind of macabre collection somewhere?

She didn't have too much time to muse, however; for the hunter, now finished with his work, had gathered up his trophies, as well as the weapons and armor of the fallen, which he put into a large mesh sack which he'd pulled from his belt, and was now heading back toward her.

"Crap… Crap, crap, crap, crap…" Grey muttered under her breath, but raised the broken katana anyway, though it was visibly trembling in her hands, due to her extreme weakness and, yes, fear of this new adversary.

Standing before her, the big guy cocked his head to one side, as the other had done earlier, and regarded her with curiosity, before raising a hand and pointing to her, then over to the edge of the clearing, where the largest hunter's head still lay, undisturbed, since it had been removed from its owner's body.

"Heh?" the human said, lowering the sword slightly in her confusion.

The hunter again pointed to her, then to the head and, as if an afterthought, to the two that he had collected moments before.

It took another moment, but Grey realized that he seemed to want her to retrieve the severed head of her opponent and, wondering why two wouldn't suffice, she shrugged, lowered her sword-somehow knowing that he wouldn't attack her while her back was turned, at least-and walked over to get it, picking it up gingerly by the odd-feeling "hair" and bringing it back over to present it to him, while continuing to hold the sword with one hand.

But this did not appear to be his intention, as he shook his head vigorously, backed away a step or two, and motioned to the head, and to her again.

"What?" Grey asked, a bit frustrated now, as she could tell was the creature in front of her, from the way it let out what might have been a gruff sort of sigh, before putting down the bag and reaching up to remove his own helmet, revealing a somewhat different facial structure than the other's; his mandibles were shorter, with smaller tusks, and his eyes were a rich, deep crimson color, with what looked to the human to be small, coarse black hairs on his cheeks and above his eyebrows. Although he was intimidating, Grey did not get the feeling that he meant her any _immediate_ harm, and she lowered the ruined sword another inch or two.

" **Yours."** he said, in a gravelly sort of voice, making her jump back a couple of inches. After all their quality time together, she had no idea that her "friends" could learn English, let alone speak it…sort of.

"What? Oh! I… I couldn't possibly… You can have it…" she insisted, as though offering him the last piece of birthday cake instead of a severed head.

Again, he shook his own head, the rings and ornaments in his hair making a soft clinking sound as he did so.

" **Yours."** he said again, more firmly than before, and took a step nearer to her. One more would close the distance between them, and that was much too close for Grey's comfort, after all she'd been through recently. Plus, the adrenaline rush from earlier was starting to wear off, and now, her decision to strip off all her clothes and fight bare-assed seemed less brave, and dumber than almost anything than she'd ever done in her life…so far. It was odd, too, that she suddenly felt embarrassed in front of the big guy, when he'd obviously been watching the fight from the beginning, and all her moving and jumping around during it, had probably already seen all there was to see. Subconsciously, she tried to turn to the side a little, to hide her goodies from those burning eyes of his, and she could her whole body begin to flush.

He moved again, ever so slightly, and this was enough for Grey. Forcing aside any notions of modesty, she turned her attention back to the situation at hand.

"Whoa, big boy! I'm grateful for the help, really; but I'm gonna need you to step back, okay? I'm tired, I'm hungry, I don't know where the hell I am, I've been through hell these past few days, and I am _not_ in the mood for any more bullshit!" she said warningly, raising the sword again and pointing it at him.

At this, he stared at her out of those deep red eyes, and clicked his mandibles repeatedly; but slowly and deliberately, as though in thought. After a few moments of this, he took half a step forward.

"I said BACK OFF!" Grey screamed, her heart beginning to pound in her ears, as she pointed her half of the sword at his neck, which was nearly a foot above her, and she was fairly tall for her age, and for a woman in general.

Perhaps it was the heat, the sheer stress, the sleep deprivation, the beginning signs of starvation, or the crash that always seemed to follow an adrenaline rush, or more likely all these combined; but Grey's vision began to blur, and the sword she was holding began to go in and out of focus, and she felt her legs crumple from her own weight.

"No… Not now…" she said through clenched teeth, as her vision began to darken, and both the blade and the head dropped from her hands. If she passed out now, she'd be completely helpless; not that she was in any sort of position to help herself at the moment, anyway…

As the blackness began to close in, the last thing Grey remembered seeing was the hunter drawing closer to her…

" _And the day was going so well, too…"_ she thought.

Then there was darkness.

 **Well, what did you guys think? Drop me a PM and tell me how I'm doing so far. Next chapter coming up soon!**

 **And if anyone has any sort of moral issue with Grey being naked, the concept seemed fine when I was typing up this chapter at 2 this morning. One of my friends pointed out how weird it was, but by that time, I'd already finished and I wasn't doing a re-write. Besides, if you read some of the other stories on this site, well, they're a lot more controversial than this. Some of them are just plain gross; and don't get me started on some of the twisted crap over on FictionPress!**

 **For anyone who doesn't already know, my account name is the same on FictionPress as it is here. There's nothing much to see there, but I'm working on some original stuff that some of you might like, as soon as I post it, that is.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer – Don't own the franchises; just my own characters.**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Kantra**

He had awoken that morning knowing that the days ahead would bring something different. Something was going to change, and very soon.

This feeling was something to ponder and, as the large, dark-skinned hunter fought off the last vestiges of sleep, he thought that the feeling he was having was indeed a strange one. For his people were the Yautja; hunters of the most dangerous creatures that the various worlds they visited could provide, and life for them was always serving up some new adventure…a new challenge to overcome, new territory to claim, or some new prey to vanquish. Yes, life was ever-changing…and that never changed.

So why, then, did he get the feeling that this was different?

Yawning and flexing his mandibles, he took a moment to enjoy the comfort of the small mountain of skins, pelts and cushions that served as his bed, as well as the warmth of the female lying beside him, as naked as he was and sleeping peacefully; apparently still quite tired from the night before.

Now fully awake, he rose from the bed and stretched, before heading to the washroom to answer nature's call and get cleaned up for the day ahead; he was still covered in the residue of the previous night's events. As he passed by a table, however, a message on the screen of his personal communicator caught his attention. Moving several knives and a spare set of Wristblades out of the way, he picked up the wafer-thin device and began to read the symbols, made of dashes of varying angles and configurations that were the written Yautja language. Touching the screen for more information, he saw a message from the Clan Elder, summoning him to his personal quarters as soon as possible.

"Is it time to get up?" the female muttered, rolling over to look at him through half-closed amber eyes, drawing his attention away from his communicator and its message.

He took a moment to admire the dark brown skin that was much lighter on her belly, the elegant mandibles, the well-toned arms and legs, the ample breasts and firm behind, and felt a stirring in his loins. She seemed to eyeing him as well, but since he had duties to attend to, he put his lust aside for the moment and answered her.

"Aye." he said simply.

Sighing, she got up as well, went over to a table, and began to put her clothes-consisting of a simple brown cloth tunic of sufficient length to cover what needed covering-back on, brushing a few of her long plaits out of her face as she did so.

"You may bathe here, if you like; I can wash after you depart." he offered.

"My thanks; but I fear I have no time to linger here. I shall bathe upon returning to my home." she replied.

"Did I please you?" he asked, knowing full well that he had, if her roars and the scratches on his back were any indication. Still, it was always best to be polite and ask; for females did not take rudeness-from any male of any rank-lightly.

"Aye. And if I had the day free, I would likely remain here and enjoy you awhile longer; but I must go and attend to matters of my own, as I am sure must, as well." she said, heading toward the door to his quarters, which the male had opened for her, nodding respectfully as she passed, with a small rumbling purr.

"With your permission, I would like to call on you again, when your Clan next sees fit to return to this ship." he said quietly.

"I can assure you, I will certainly see you again." she affirmed, before turning and strolling leisurely down the ship's large corridor to join the rest of the females that made up her Clan. Females and pups always lived separately from males; and normally only left the Homeworld during the breeding season, when the hormones of both sexes led them to seek each other out. Males-from Unblooded to Elders-usually kept to their own Clan, save for when two or more Clans came together for conflict, competition, a religious ceremony, or an especially large or important Hunt. Those who held ranks higher than that of Elder were either too busy with their duties to leave the Homeworld, too old and honored to warrant a trip off-planet or, in the case of the Arbitrators like him, really didn't have reason to belong to a Clan in the first place, usually had their own ships, and traveled where their duties took them. He, however, preferred to remain here, with the Clan that had accepted and trained him, the Elder that had Blooded him, and on the ship that had been his home for so long. This was where he resided when he was not hunting Bad-Bloods-criminal Yautja who had gone down the wrong path and life and had to be dealt with by any means necessary-or the creatures that called themselves Yautja, but who cared nothing for the Code of Honor that true Yautja lived-and died-by.

Now it was the breeding season; and the scent of aroused males and females in estrus permeated the entire ship, keeping everyone in a state between arousal and aggression, and basically making the lives of the inhabitants-the Blood Moon Clan-even more challenging than usual. This was the time when fights-between males, males and females, and rarely, females-broke out, and the Unblooded were especially prone to lashing out at each other, and occasionally their superiors, out of sheer sexual frustration, as no female who valued her honor or that of her Clan would ever allow such a lowly-ranked male the pleasure of mating with her.

This male, however, had long since shed the title of Unblooded, and his rise through the ranks, which had come through many bloody and deadly Hunts, had earned him the respect-however grudging it was-of males, and the welcome attention of quite a few females.

His name was Kantra, which, in the language of his people meant "prayer", and after he had taken a quick bath, and tossed the drying cloth in the laundry container for the servants-those Yautja who either crippled during a Hunt or suffered from birth defects or conditions that did not allow them to participate in regular combat-to collect later and wash. Standing before a large cabinet and pulling open its doors, he began to choose the day's attire.

Pulling on the simple loincloth, the bandoleer for his multiple bladed discs, a few knives, his ceremonial dagger, the gauntlet that all proper hunters wore on their wrists, the long, serrated blades that attached to it, and strapping his favorite sword to his back, he grabbed his Bio-Mask from its stand and headed out the door, whipping up the ever-present layer of mist that covered the floor on every part of the ship.

Though he looked as though he were ready for war, most of his armaments were just for effect; at least, during normal days aboard the ship. No male in his right mind would attack this particular Yautja, and all those below his rank parted as he passed, and bowed in deference to him, their eyes on the floor, as propriety dictated. He was aware, however, that many of them gave each other a certain look when they thought he was far enough away not to notice; a look that he had gotten from the time he was a toddling pup, and one that he would likely have to endure until his dying day. But that was life; his, anyway.

Walking briskly past the training hall, the Unblooded quarters, the trophy room, and the vast weapons chamber, he made his way to the upper decks of the ship, where the Clan Elder and others of high rank resided when not training, eating or hunting.

This part of the ship was more ornate, and the trophies of various Clan Elders, Elites and Blooded were arranged neatly in lighted recesses along the walls, alongside small metal plates that gave details about the trophy, its collector, and the Hunt in which it was won. There were several Kiande Amedha Queen skulls, multiple Oomans, various beasts from a plethora of worlds, and even the occasional Kiande Amedha Royal Guard, whose main function was to protect the Queen, but who were seldom encountered outside of her chambers, making them an especially rare prize for any Yautja. There were also a few of his trophies here as well, but he did not stop to look at these, and continued on.

Finally, he reached the door to the Elder's private quarters, which were the largest on the ship, naturally, and into which none ever went without good reason; for to simply come by unannounced and without purpose would be one of the most disrespectful things any hunter could do and might possibly be the last, if the interloper caught the Elder at a bad time or when he was in a temper.

Obviously he was expected, since there were two servants-one with a missing left, arm, and mandible, and the other far too small and weak-looking to be of any use on a Hunt-were waiting to open the doors for him, keeping their eyes averted at all times. He gave them a small nod of acknowledgement, and entered.

The quarters of the Elder-whose name was Yeyinde-were home to a massive collection of trophies and objects from all the worlds he had visited and all the opponents he had faced. There were trophy skulls of every description, along with hides and pelts of varying sizes and colors, weapons, armor, technological devices, bones, claws, fangs, feathers, strange rocks, jars of this and that, the dried-up corpse of a the larval stage of a Kiande Amedha, giant insect husks, a couple of shelves of Ooman books, for some reason, and many more things that Kantra could not readily identify, but about which he was certain the Elder had a fascinating tale. Though he was well into his adulthood, Kantra never could help marvel like an awe-stricken pup at all the things his superior had collected over his long, long life.

"Are you finished ogling my collection?" a deep voice growled amusedly from the hunter's left, and he turned to see Elder Yeyinde standing in the doorway to his sleeping quarters, clad only in his loincloth, and looking curiously at the younger male.

"Forgive me, Elder; I did not realize that you had entered…" Kantra said, kneeling on one knee before his Clan's leader.

"Do not worry; I was not expecting you so early. Some of these younger Blooded males take their time in responding to my summons; but I should have known that you never dawdle when you are needed." Elder Yeyinde said, making his way over to a large throne carved from a single enormous piece of wood and detailing several legendary Hunts, before sitting down, moving his exceedingly long, grey plaits out of his face and studied the hunter before him with the one light brown eye he had left, the other having been lost during a Hunt long ago.

"Forgive me, but were you…occupied?" the younger inquired, suddenly realizing that the room smelled strongly of female musk; more than one female, in fact.

"Actually, I may have been ready and waiting for you by the time you arrived, had my most recent companion not insisted on enjoying me on last time. I believe you know how _persistent_ females can be, when they have their minds set on something."

Kantra nodded, and Elder Yeyinde seemed lost in his own thoughts for a few minutes, before spreading his mandibles in a prolonged yawn.

"If my presence is causing the Elder some inconvenience, I will certainly leave and return at a better time, if he wishes."

"If I had desired sleep, I would have gone to bed alone… In any case, I have asked you here, Kantra, because I have it on very good authority that certain Yautja have been causing no end of trouble lately."

"The Swift Flame Clan? They are rather…enthusiastic, I admit; but they do follow our laws like proper Yautja. I cannot see how they could cause the Elder such concern…"

"No; I am not speaking of a group of young upstarts with no more sense than a pile of Hard Meat dung, Kantra. The ones I speak of now are true Bad-Bloods; their very nature renders them beyond redemption, even to the most lenient Arbitrator." the older male said darkly.

Kantra knew instantly of whom his Elder spoke, and a vicious snarl escaped his flared mandibles before he could compose himself.

"Them!" he growled, hatred welling up inside of him like a monstrous serpent.

"Indeed. They have been skulking about again; taking Oomans from their planet and dropping them onto their own hunting ground. This time, they have taken a larger number of Oomans than is usual; and their activities have not escaped notice by the authorities in the areas from which they have been "collecting". This presents a serious problem for the Yautja race; more attention from their law enforcement and government means that any Hunts on that world are far more risky than normal. Paya forbid they actually manage to get hold of some of our technology, or even one of our people. I have no doubt that they would gladly reveal themselves to the entire planet, such is their recklessness!"

Another snarl from Kantra, who had jumped up and was arching his back and flaring his mandibles in rage, while his fists were balled up tightly at his sides, his claws threatening to cut into the flesh of his palms.

"I have only recently received information that one or two of our own people were on a Hunt nearby where the Bad-Bloods were last known to be active, and that one of their devices of last resort was activated. I would stake any trophy I own that they were either unaware of their presence and were ambushed or attempted to confront them directly. If the Black Warrior has any mercy, their suffering was short-lived. If only He could have taken those three wretches, as well." he finished.

"I will complete the task in His stead! They have no Honor, and no right to call themselves Yautja, or even to exist in this world alongside the Yautja!" Kantra roared, the musk of his rage filling the room.

"Control yourself." the Elder said, in a low, very serious voice, and Kantra immediately stood down.

"I apologize for my outburst, Elder." he said, after a short time, though the older male noticed that the scent of his aggression still remained in the air, though not as intense as it had been. He waited for Kantra to calm down a bit more, before speaking again.

"Now, I know full well of your enmity toward those cretins, and I know full well the reason for it. I know that you will stop at nothing to rid this world of their foul ilk." he said, and waited a moment, as Kantra's mandibles flared again, though he knew this not to be directed at him, so he decided not to mention it, and continued.

"And this is why I am granting you permission to track these three down and show them the consequences of breaking our laws and dishonoring our people. Hunt them down like the beasts they are! I hereby grant you permission to use any means, any weapon, necessary for their destruction, as long as it falls within our laws. Find them, and when you do, show them as much mercy as they would show you!"

At this, Kantra jumped up again, roaring in triumph at his Elder's words, before bowing quickly and preparing to leave his quarters and set out on his newest Hunt.

"Kantra!" the older male called, making the younger stop and turn to face his superior.

"May Paya smile upon your Hunt, and may the Black Warrior lose your trail." he said, and Kantra bowed again, and left.

By the next day, Kantra had armed himself with his deadliest weapons and his strongest armor, and had stocked his ship, which was a recent acquisition granted to him by special permission from Elder Yeyinde, with food and supplies, and had set off in search of the hated Bad-Bloods.

Now far away from Blood Moon territory, he began to plan his strategy, setting the coordinates in the ship's navigation computer for the lush, jungle planet on which the Bad Bloods' Clan staged the travesties they considered Hunts. Every Yautja hunter knew precisely where this planet was located, and most were happy to stay well away from it, lest the hunter become the prey. The ship's computer had informed him of the area in which several lifeforms with Yautja technology were last known to be, and it was here that he intended to begin his search.

"Slaughter… Senseless murder…" Kantra said, feeling his blood boil at the very thought of his opponents…his enemies.

It was true that Yautja did sometimes hunt Oomans; but the Code of Honor, which governed how they were to conduct themselves during such Hunts, specifically forbade harming the weak, the injured or crippled, the very old or very young, the sick, those who were unarmed-save for when they specialized in unarmed combat, of course-and presented no threat, females-though this depended on their abilities-and females who were carrying pups. Prey had to be given a chance to defend itself; a chance to fight and die with honor, and the hunter was nearly always expected to conduct the Hunt alone. It was also not allowed for prey to be taken from their place of origin to be hunted.

The clan of Bad-Bloods who lurked on the jungle planet had, at various points in their history, broken every one of these sacred rules, and many, many more. What they did was an abomination; an affront to the species, and they were to be destroyed whenever they revealed themselves.

Kantra was only too willing to do this.

Forcing himself to momentarily put aside his loathing for the creatures, he turned his attention back to strategy, sitting at a small table near the middle of the ship and looking through the data on his wrist gauntlet, occasionally bringing up holograms of detailed battle strategies for dealing with a number of beasts, gathered throughout the ages by countless Yautja and amassed for the rest of the race to study.

By the time the computer alerted him that the ship was drawing near its destination, Kantra had found and memorized several likely plans of attack. There were a few more that would have worked as well, but some of these involved a sneak attack from the back, and though it would have been permissible in cases like his, the Arbitrator had never liked such things, deeming them to be too like the tactics of his enemies.

He was also having some misgivings about his armor. He had every right, in this situation, to wear his plate armor, which he had won some time ago in unarmed combat against a mouthy young male from another Clan; but it bothered him, because as a general rule, Yautja were often expected to remove their armor before a fight. He reasoned that this was only in the case of hand-to-hand fights, and as he doubted that his opponents would fight fairly, his honor would not be in question if he didn't discard his protection.

Then again, the thought of besting them when they were wearing armor and he was not… This filled him with a pride so strong, the feeling almost made him rumble with pleasure.

"Cloaking or no cloaking…?" he wondered aloud, as the ship entered the planet's atmosphere.

The light-bending camouflage that nearly every hunter had was fine for most Oomans; but it was useless against Kiande Amedha, certain other beasts, and other Yautja, whose Bio-Masks and wrist gauntlets could detect a cloaked opponent and fire on him before he had time to register what was going on.

His weapons were another matter.

His sword, discs, and knives were a non-issue; but he debated heavily on whether or not to bring his shoulder-mounted Plasmacaster. In the end, he grudgingly decided to employ it, and attached it to his left shoulder, where it took only moments to integrate with the systems in his mask and gauntlet, and he tested out his laser sight on the wall, just to make sure everything was working properly.

His decision was based on the possibility that one of the three he would be hunting may be among those who employed those strange quadruped creatures, and a quick succession of hot plasma bolts would take them out quickly and at a longer range, while fighting them hand-to-hand would be time consuming, and he couldn't risk being injured before the true fight began. Certain versions of the plasma gun could easily blast a Hard Meat Warrior in half; and even the most basic model would make quick work of those things. Not to mention that at least one of those cowards was sure to either attack him while he was busy with their beasts, or run away and try to regroup and fight him later on with even more unfair odds.

With this decided, he turned around and stood before the ship's exit, just as the craft touched down, with barely any indication that it had made contact with the ground. The ramp extended from the side of the ship, and the door opened, and Kantra walked outside and into the jungle.

Two hours later, as Kantra trekked through the jungle, having discovered and disarmed at least a dozen traps of various descriptions, some of which he knew were most likely made by the Oomans brought to this world, he began to wonder where exactly his intended targets had gotten to. Surely they had known via their own computers that his ship had landed not to far from their last known coordinates? Kantra could think of many things to call his enemies: cruel, duplicitous, and a disgrace to the Yautja name among them; but stupid and careless, they were not.

His Plasmacaster at the ready, he continued to make his way through the dense undergrowth, hating himself for thinking that, if the Bad-Bloods' Clan had not been using this planet, it would be a fine place to conduct proper Hunts.

Another half-hour went by, and Kantra was beginning to grow frustrated. Never before had he been made to search so long these wretched beings, and he was hoping that a good fight might help him let out a little tension.

Just as he began to feel his temper rise, he heard a sound coming from up ahead; a sound that told him exactly where his quarry was likely to be.

"Come and get me, you pricks! I know you're there! COME AND GET ME!"

A voice-a female Ooman's voice-and it was issuing a challenge. He had less understanding of their language than he would have liked to admit; but he knew by the tone of her voice that it was, indeed, an invitation to fight. His first thought was that these Bad-Bloods truly had no sense of shame, bringing a female here; his second was one of curiosity; he could hear the rage in her voice, and her words sounded absolutely sincere.

Knowing that this stranger could not possibly last long against the Bad-Bloods, Kantra hastened his steps in the direction from which the voice had come, hoping to find his prey before they made short work of theirs and the jungle became silent again. Upon further thought, he activated his cloaking device, not wanting the Ooman to mistake him for one of her attackers and try to fight him, which would only result in injury-or worse-for her, and the total loss of the element of surprise for him.

At last, he approached the edge of a clearing…and saw the strangest thing he's ever witnessed in his life. Though he knew he was invisible-to her, at least-he quickly ducked down into some high bushes and watched as the scene played out before him.

The Ooman female was standing-naked-in the middle of the clearing, brandishing a long sword that his Bio-Mask told him was in anything but battle-ready condition. She had apparently not received the response she desired from her first challenge, and she-and Kantra-heard the rapid clicking of tusks that meant Yautja laughter, which only served to enrage her further.

The largest one looked to be the oldest, and was accompanied by two-for they always came in threes-younger-looking males. No doubt their recent activities had been a sort of learning experience for them; with the older one serving as the teacher and trainer. The two younger ones would likely hang back and watch as their superior disposed of the prey, or perhaps participate, as these Yautja were well-known for their three-on-one tactics.

"Yeah, laugh it up, assholes! But which one of you limp-dicks wants to be the first one to come over here? Not afraid of a naked chick, are you? Maybe all those guns are just compensating for what you don't have going on down below!" she yelled, and the language translator in Kantra's mask showed that she was bellowing out dire insults about certain parts of her enemies' anatomy, and insulting their ability to function properly.

" _Has she lost her mind?"_ the Arbitrator thought. A challenge was one thing; but actually taunting her foes, and in such a way… Her time on this planet…all the horrors she must have witnessed… It must have driven her mad, he decided.

Crazy though it may have been, this last barrage of insults worked; for the three Bad-Bloods seemed to materialize out of thin air, just on the opposite edge of the clearing…and Kantra could smell the musk of aggression from his position, making him all the more eager for the confrontation to come.

"Did I touch a nerve, boys, or just figure something out? All your big blades can't make up for the face that your most important equipment is so tiny!"

This again? Truly, she must have been insane…or perhaps suicidal…

This last comment was too much for the largest of the Bad-Bloods, and he roared with rage and, in just a few steps, crossed the distance between himself and the Ooman, reached out, grabbed her by the throat, and lifted her up to his eye level.

"Big…mistake…asshole!" she managed to say, before bringing the sword up in a surprise attempt to slash through his unprotected belly. The cut was far too shallow, however, and it only bring some amusement to the one holding her, because Kantra could hear him and his companions clicking with laughter again, before he removed his mask, tossed it over to land a few feet away from where Kantra was hidden, and roared, his mandibles flaring wide, into the female's face. This was a standard intimidation tactic among the Yautja.

One that did not work in the slightest, because a moment later, she spat defiantly into his unprotected face. Kantra noted that she had not dropped her sword all the while.

He was impressed.

"Ugh, your breath's worse than your face! Let me guess; your mama changed her mind halfway through the abortion?" she said, unimpressed, and Kantra's language translator let him know that she'd just insulted him _again_ , and seriously.

A small flame of admiration ignited in the Arbitrator as he realized that this naked creature, who had issued such bold words, was showing no signs of tears; nor was she begging for her life, or for her death. Most impressively, she had not dropped her weapon, and she was staring her likely killer right in the face; the expression on her own one of fury and eerily calm determination, not fear.

Did she think she could win?

It was then that Kantra decided that, once this was over, he would give the Ooman an honorable burial. With this on his mind, he turned his focus back to the Ooman.

Rage spread through him like wildfire as he saw the Bad-Blood's free hand trailing, in a sickeningly obvious way, down her body, and the cloaked Yautja had to invoke Paya Himself for the strength not to rush out right then and there, but swore that he would, should it go any further.

" _Surely… Surely not… He could not possibly intend to…"_ he thought, trembling with fury, and finding it absolutely incredible that neither the largest of the trio, nor his accomplices, had noticed either his presence on their scanners nor the pungent musk which would certainly have drifted out into the clearing by now.

"Oh, _hell_ no!" the Ooman cried, realizing what Kantra already had, and, in a single movement, brought her head smashing into her would-be assailant's face, while simultaneously bringing her leg-which the hidden hunter could tell, even without a mask, was already injured-up to kick him, with as much strength as she could muster, in his already-wounded stomach.

He gave a sort of half-snarl, half-yelp, and let her fall to the ground, still clutching her blade, while both of his hands came up to cover his mandibles and, when he finally took them away, Kantra could clearly see that the Bad-Blood's mouth was bleeding, and at least one of the somewhat delicate mouthparts was broken.

The Arbitrator couldn't help but let out a few clicks of laughter of his own; the sheer nerve!

Chiding himself, he looked quickly around to see if the sound had drawn any attention and, to his relief, realized that had not.

" _They must be too occupied to have noticed my presence…"_ he decided. Paya may have been smiling on him, after all.

The Ooman was not without injury, however; her face had made contact with her opponent's tusks, leaving a diagonal gash about the length of one of his fingers across the bridge of her nose.

"And I still look better than you." she growled, wiping away both of their blood.

Kantra was _damn_ impressed.

But the Bad-Blood was not. His mandible broken, his pride far more damaged, he had apparently decided that it was time to bring this fight to an end. Activating his Plasmacaster, he began to fire a barrage of bolts at the Ooman who, miraculously, managed to dodge them, with nothing more than a few moderate burns.

As she dodged his attacks, Kantra took careful note of the fact that she was slowly, very slowly, making a wide circle around him. His overconfidence in his guidance system, coupled with his underestimation of his opponent, led to what happened next.

Too preoccupied with firing wildly at his target, the Bad-Blood failed to realize that the circle she was making around him was bringing her ever closer to him. For a brief moment, Kantra wondered if his two companions at the edge of the clearing were going to take the chance to attack her when she came close; but as she passed, keeping a careful distance, he deduced that they must still be captivated by this fight.

It was then, right when she was at the closest distance she could achieve from the larger being, that the female made move.

Running toward him, she lowered herself and, with one mighty, upward thrust, plunged the blade into the hunter's abdomen, burying a full half of it in his entrails, before catching a second wind and plunging it even deeper. Kantra knew that the reason-the only reason-that this had worked was that her sudden, reckless rush toward him had caught him completely by surprise. If he hadn't been so focused on his anger, he would have been able to see that move coming and either blocked it entirely or stepped quickly aside.

Roaring in pain, the Bad-Blood began writhing where he stood, as the Ooman planted her feet firmly in place, intending to see this through to the end. She was not able to remain in position for very long, however, due to the sudden snapping of the sword in her hands. She quickly jumped aside and stood for a few moments as the Yautja on the ground made several futile attempts to remove the blade from his belly. Finally, he stopped moving around so much, as blood loss and the internal injuries he must have incurred during all his thrashing began to take their toll. The Arbitrator saw that on the victor's face was not a look of triumph, but one of…pity. The female took her chance and, seizing the first opportunity, showed her opponent mercy by rushing forward and using the other half of the sword to remove his head, ending his suffering.

Kantra was awestruck; she had won, and she had shown honor in her victory. A seasoned Blooded couldn't have shown a better example the right way to engage in and win such a fight. Showing mercy to an enemy was sometimes difficult for even the noblest of Yautja…

Panting heavily, she then slumped to the ground, exhausted by the fight, but all too soon, the two remaining hunters shook themselves free of the spell the battle the battle had put on them and began to advance slowly toward her.

A twig cracked beneath one of their feet, and the Ooman turned to look up at her next two opponents, who, by the way they were behaving, intended to fight her as a team. There would be no way for her to win, even with a brand new sword, and even armor wouldn't have been able to protect her for long against such unfair odds.

So why, then, did she jump up, scream in absolute defiance, and bear the near-useless remains of her weapon at them?

Kantra didn't have time to think about this; for one of the two remaining Bad-Bloods drew from his belt what the Arbitrator knew to be the device used to summon those accursed beasts that he loathed so much and, sure enough, a rustling of bushes precluded their arrival. Stalking out of the forest, they began to slowly approach the Ooman, their fangs bared, waiting for their master's command to attack. A moment later, it came, and the nearest one sprang towards its prey…

Deciding he'd hidden long enough, Kantra quickly aimed and fired a well-aimed blast from his Plasmacaster, hitting the beast in mid-jump and splattering its innards all directions, some of the mess hitting the Ooman, who made a noise of unmistakable disgust, before looking around for the source of the blast.

Kantra, taking care not to discharge too near the female, then proceeded to finish off the other five beasts, while keeping a watchful eye on the other two stunned Yautja who, it seemed, were too stunned by his sudden appearance to act.

They recovered quickly, however, when Kantra deactivated his camouflage, startling the Ooman and, he was pleased to see, the two remaining Bad-Bloods.

He was not surprised at their reaction, however; their kind knew him well…

Roaring his own challenge, he began making his way across the open ground, passing by the still-shocked Ooman and heading directly for the two he'd come for.

A moment later, one of them-the beast-keeper-apparently decided that no trophy was worth a confrontation with this particular Yautja and, without his creatures to do his dirty work for him and without his larger leader to join in, turned like a coward and began to run in the opposite direction, raising Kantra's ire far more than if he'd stayed to fight.

Watching him run, the Arbitrator pulled out a shuriken and released its many deadly blades, before taking aim and throwing it, hard, at the other Bad-Blood, who did not have time to react before it penetrated his throat and pinned him to a tree with its sheer momentum.

The beast-keeper, who had stopped and turned around to see what had happened to his companion, tried again to run away, further enraging his pursuer, who gave chase again.

Kantra was faster than his quarry, and in a few strides-during which he stepped on one of the dead beast's heads-had managed to jump in front of him, which was good, because as an honorable Yautja, he would never stoop so low as to attack while another's back was turned; even if that other happened to be an enemy.

For a moment, the older male studied his adversary, and detected the unmistakable musk of fear about him.

"You could at least _die_ like a proper Yautja." Kantra growled, but before the younger male could react, he grabbed his sword from his back, thrust it into the other's belly and, with a quick, forceful upward movement, slashed him, spilling his luminescent blood, bowels, and parts of what he'd recently eaten onto the forest floor, before he crumpled, lifeless, to the ground.

The Hunt was over.

Not wasting any time, the victorious Arbitrator went over to the first corpse and retrieved his shuriken with one quick movement, before kneeling and using his ceremonial dagger to begin claiming his trophy.

" _Slice up the back, reach into the opening, cut the nerves and tendons connecting the spine to the rest of the body. Finally, pull the spine and skull out in one piece, taking care not to pull to hard or too quickly, or bend too far either way, or it would ruin the trophy and you will have nothing to show for your efforts. You will probably destroy a few, anyway, before you learn to do it properly. This process is far more difficult than the simple skinning of prey; but it is one of our oldest and most sacred traditions. "_ Elder Yeyinde had told them sternly, upon the very first day that he and several other Unblooded had spent on the Clan's ship. He had expected every one of them to master this grisly art before their Kiande Amedha Chiva, which, if successfully completed, would earn them the title of Blooded, and mark their entrance into the Blood Moon Clan, and the right to truly call themselves Yautja.

This procedure was now as natural to Kantra as breathing, and he was able to finish quickly, before moving on to the second Bad-Blood.

Though his enmity for them was great, he could not help but feel a tiny stab of pity upon seeing that these two were quite young-recently Blooded, in fact, as the scars on their foreheads were still fresh-and wondered if their Clan would start sending out their pups next.

All this time, the Ooman had been standing in the same place in the middle of the clearing, still holding her broken sword and watching him.

Picking up his new trophies, Kantra rose, took a woven mesh sack from his belt, and placed them inside, in addition to their body armor, devices, weapons and Bio-Masks. Even though he doubted that anyone from his Clan would want to wear the armor or use the weapons, he did want to analyze the masks and wrist gauntlets to see exactly what these three had been up to. Perhaps he could find out where their Clan's ship was; for it was said that the Adjudicators back on the Homeworld were beginning consider dealing with all of these troublemakers at once, and Kantra was more than happy to help hasten the process.

As he drew closer to her, he could hear her muttering to herself, obviously growing more nervous with every step he took. When at last he stood before her, he looked down at the still-bleeding corpse of the oldest of the three Bad-Bloods, wondering for a moment why she had not yet taken her own trophy, before reminding himself that her kind did not do such things-at least not like Yautja did. Still, he thought that she should claim her prize, after she'd fought so valiantly against one who cared nothing for the honor of the Hunt, instead getting their pleasure from tormenting and terrorizing their prey, and of course, the kill itself.

Looking at her, he tried to think of a way to let her know what he wanted her to do, without frightening or provoking her any further. A preliminary medical scan showed that her heart was beating very rapidly, and that she was not in good condition; as such, her body's systems could not take much more stress, not to mention the condition of her mental state…

Finally, he hit upon an idea. Pointing at first to her, and then to the severed head lying on the edge of the clearing.

"Heh?" she said, not understanding what he meant.

He again pointed to her, and then the head, and then to the two dripping skulls in his mesh bag, hoping that she would get the idea this time.

She stared at him for another moment or two, before he saw realization come over her face, and she slowly walked over to where the head lay and picked it up, her eyes never leaving him, before bringing it back over and holding it out to him, all the while still holding tight to the near-useless sword.

Kantra had to quickly calm himself, and tell himself that she had not meant to cause him offense; she was simply ignorant of the significance of the thing she held. For a hunter, who took such enormous pride in his own accomplishments, to be offered a trophy collected by someone else, and in such a casual manner… It was unthinkable and, had she been one of his own kind, would have resulted in armed combat before the entire Clan to restore his honor.

Sighing in exasperation, he reached up and removed his Bio-Mask, revealing his face to her for the first time.

It did not seem to faze her, but then again, she'd seen the other's face not too long before this. That would save some trouble; Oomans were always shocked upon seeing his people's faces for the first time. Then again, she had probably seen and endured so many horrors during her time here that she'd become somewhat numb to shock by now…

But that was something for him to think over another time. Now, he decided that he would have to abandon his attempts at sign language and speak to her in her own tongue, in which he was not very fluent, as he hadn't really hunted too many Oomans.

" **Yours."** he said, his voice coming out in much more of a growl than he'd intended.

"What? Oh! I… I couldn't possibly… You can have it…" she said quickly, still holding the head out to him and looking shocked at either the idea of keeping it or his speaking to her in Ooman.

They always did seem taken aback by that.

" **Yours."** he repeated, wondering how someone could be so fearless and so clueless at the same time.

For some reason, this was the moment when she appeared to realize that she was still naked, and began trying to turn away from him a little, hiding her more private regions with an improvised stance, her face turning red with embarrassment.

This was not going as Kantra had hoped. Had this one not been so dense, he might have been well on his way back to his ship by now, looking forward to cleaning his new trophies and a well-deserved bowl of C'nlip before allowing himself a nap…

Taking a step toward her, he intended to make another attempt to clarify what he wished of her, but she obviously mistook his movement for a hostile gesture, and jumped back a little, raising her weapon as she took a stance, intending to use it.

"Whoa, big boy! I'm grateful for the help, really; but I'm gonna need you to step back, okay? I'm tired, I'm hungry, I don't know where the hell I am, I've been through hell these past few days, and I am _not_ in the mood for any more bullshit!" she said, her voice growing louder and more aggressive with each word.

He didn't understand all of this, but he did know enough Ooman to get the gist of it; she was warning him to keep his distance.

Now this one, this one was a true rarity! Here she stood before him, naked, filthy, reeking of foulness, completely outclassed and barely armed… _and she was still ready to fight!_

The smell of her fear was thick around her, but unlike with the Bad-Bloods, Kantra was not bothered by it in the least, because she was ready to fight in spite of it. In spite of the impossible odds, in spite of her weakened condition and injuries, she was completely willing to try and defeat him, or do as much damage as she possibly could before the Black Warrior came for her. She would use that fear, the fear that could turn even the most docile creatures into killers when they were cornered, to come at him with everything she had left, and only stop once the last breath had left her body.

Possessed by curiosity, and a stubbornness that was all too often the fatal flaw of his people, Kantra took another small step forward, just to see what the one before him would do…

"I said BACK OFF!" she yelled, raising her sword higher, a final warning.

But before Kantra could do anything else, he saw that she had gone suddenly pale, and was growing unsteady on her feet.

"No… Not now…" she said, as she fell her knees, dropping her sword and the head in the process.

She had reached her limit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own AVP, just my guys.**

 **Chapter 3**

As the ship left the planet's atmosphere, Kantra could not believe what he was doing.

After the Ooman had fainted, he had hurriedly collected the weapons, armor, and Bio-Mask of the Bad-Blood she had killed, along with its head, and, on a whim, both pieces of the broken sword, using his Wristblades to cut the other half out of the body of the dead Yautja, before putting everything in his mesh bag.

It was then that he had reached a decision.

Kneeling down, he had carefully gathered her into his arms, marveling at how little effort it took to lift her, and noticed how different her skin felt compared to females of his own race; softer, and far more delicate. He had, of course, felt Ooman skin before; he had taken a few of them during Hunts on their world, though they were from males, and were as different from hers as night was from day.

She wasn't as warm as he knew was normal for her kind, but his Bio-Mask informed him that she was alive; though for how much longer…

Accessing his wrist computer, he ordered his ship to fly to his location, knowing that it would take infinitely less time for it to arrive at the clearing than for him to go back through the jungle.

In a matter of moments, it arrived and, upon alighting on the ground, opened the door and extended the boarding ramp for him.

Ascending the ramp with his bag and the Ooman, he intended to contact Elder Yeyinde as soon as he had boarded and tell him the results of his mission. Once inside, Kantra set the bag down on a table and placed her carefully on the ship's bed, making a mental note to have it thoroughly cleaned at the first opportunity. Now that he had the opportunity, he once again accessed his mask's medical scanner and programmed it to the most thorough setting it had, and began to assess the extent of her injuries.

The most obvious of these was her malnutrition. According to the scanner, she had not eaten anything for at least three or four days, and had only a small amount of water. She hadn't had a proper meal, it informed him, in at least three weeks of Earth time, and her body had already used up most of its own fat for energy and started on the muscular system just to keep her alive. How she had managed to fight the Bad-Blood, then, was nothing short of miraculous.

She was also suffering from severe exhaustion, coupled with what appeared to be a deep bruise to her right leg, a swollen jaw caused by the recent, forceful dislodgment of at least two of her teeth, the beginning stages of dehydration, and heatstroke. Her lack of hygiene had also contributed to her condition, no doubt; but that was probably due to the constant interference of her pursuers and exposure to the natural elements of this planet. The other injuries-the gash on her nose, various scrapes and scratches gained through her travels, and so forth, were superficial, for the most part, and would heal quickly, if they were attended to right away.

The mask then automatically began to assess the specifics of her qualifications as suitable prey. Kantra did not need it to tell him that she failed to meet every requirement, save for her combat skills. She was too weak, too injured, and…

"Age: Approximately fifteen Ooman years." he said quietly, only half-reading the digital display; but that caught his attention right away.

" _Fifteen…? A_ pup _! She is nothing but a_ pup _!"_ he thought, shocked, followed by outrage, and then…something akin to admiration. This was immediately followed by the realization that to look upon her while she was unclothed like this was highly improper, though his intentions were not lascivious in the least.

Quickly, he went over to the storage cabinet and retrieved one of the seldom-used blankets, before coming back over to cover her with it. This done, he removed his mask and sank into a nearby chair, trying to think of what should be done first to try and save her; for she had _earned_ the right to live after her display of skill in combat, not to mention her tenacity, ferocity, and a will so strong that it actually unnerved him to his core.

" _Even so, a pup…"_ he thought, looking once again at the blanketed creature on his bed. At this age, she should still be under the protection of her parents, if what he knew of Oomans was correct. So then, what was she doing _here_? Then he remembered who had brought her here, and it made sense: the Bad-Bloods' Clan had no respect for any other rule of the Hunt; why should the one about not harming the young be any different? Perhaps they'd thought that her abilities might make for a bit of sport; or that a female might provoke some conflict among the males they'd brought… And the way the largest of the Bad-Bloods had ran his hand over her…sickening.

He did not want to consider what the intention behind _that_ display had been; and turned his thoughts again to how best to keep her alive until he could reach the Clan's ship and let the Healers take over.

The first thing he thought was that she needed to rest and gather up her strength, and then, once she had awakened, to get some food and water into her. Most of the food that Kantra had onboard-various kinds of meat and fruit, mostly-would be suitable for her to eat. The meat, however, would have to be cooked, as Oomans did not generally consume it raw, unlike the Yautja, for whom eating raw flesh was a matter of both personal preference and convenience.

There was nothing to be done now, though, as it would probably take her some time to wake up, and as Kantra had no reason to remain on this world any longer, he ordered the ship to return to Blood Moon.

There would be nothing else to do for awhile, and so he decided that this was as good a time as any to begin cleaning and preparing his trophies. Reaching into the bag, he retrieved both of the skulls and went to get the special tools necessary for this most delicate of processes.

 _A few hours later…_

The Arbitrator leaned back in his chair, proudly looking upon the two pristine skulls that lay, clean and polished, upon the table before him.

During this time, the Ooman had not moved around much, save for occasionally rolling over onto one side or another, before returning to the fetal position beneath the blanket. She had cried out in her sleep a few times, however, calling weakly for someone she referred to as "Sen-say", or something. What horrors plagued her dreams? Kantra had wondered, feeling pity for the female, who had curled herself up tighter, as though in response.

Before he had begun preparing his own trophies, he had taken the Ooman's out of the bag and put it in a storage container that he would keep for her until she was able to do the cleaning herself; for it was considered a taboo among the Yautja for one hunter to clean the trophy of another.

This being done, he rose, stretched, and decided that it was time for him to review Bio-Masks and wrist computers of his fallen foes, before his "guest" awakened and he would have to put it off for later.

Grabbing the mask of the largest Bad-Blood from the bag, he linked it up with his wrist gauntlet and began to go through the logs stored within. He looked through the records until he found the ones pertaining to the female; he had to know how she had ended up there, if for no other reason than to satisfy his own curiosity.

During this process, he discovered that the three had taken fifteen Oomans from Earth, with the female being the youngest. According to the data, his suspicions were correct; she was chosen because her skills, while still a bit unrefined, were sufficient enough to interest her captors. It was also true that they had assumed that her presence would goad the others-all males-into some degree of competition; though he learned that she was the first one they had expected to die. A sense of savage triumph welled up within Kantra as he thought of how much their underestimation of her abilities had cost.

The first thing he looked into was how she had been taken. They had been watching her for awhile; following her as she went about her day-to-day activities, including attending one of the Ooman halls of education with many other pups. Finally, they had felt that they'd waited long enough, and tracked her to where they intended to capture her. It appeared as though she had been in a training hall of some kind, clad in a white uniform, while others in the same attire stood around the edges of the room and observed as she demonstrated her abilities, as an older male stood before her, watching her every move with the same intensity of Kantra's own teacher. Clearly, she was showing her skills as part of some examination in front of the others.

She must have passed the test; for when at last she had finished, she bowed low before her master, who did the same, and gestured to one side of the room, where a few others who had presumably already had their turn and were successful were kneeling upon the floor.

When all had been judged, the teacher turned and said something to one of the older students, disappeared into another room, and returned carrying several thin strips of black cloth.

Now Kantra understood; he had heard that this was part of some Ooman schools of fighting that these cloth belts were markers of rank and skill. All of the students received a belt, save for the female-again, the only one-who looked perplexed and perhaps a bit disappointed, but who obviously knew her place, and did not ask questions. The others were dismissed, and left, giving her sympathetic shrugs or triumphant smirks as they passed, and leaving her alone in the room.

It was then that her teacher had returned, carrying in his hand another belt, which he presented to her, saying something that Kantra could not make out, but that pleased the female so much that she had thrown her arms around her teacher out of pure joy, before composing herself and exchanging her own brown belt for the new one. Thinking back, he realized that her hair was tied out of her face with such a belt, and thought that if she had taken the trouble of keeping it, when she had discarded the rest of her clothes, it must hold some great significance…

He then saw the teacher look in the direction of the-certainly-cloaked Yautja, and had just begun to indicate what he had seen, when the female crumpled, unconscious to the training hall floor. This was most likely due to some kind to tranquilizer; probably a dart or something. The teacher did not have time to see to her, as one of the hunters revealed himself and began to advance on the pair. The male Ooman looked shocked for a moment, then shook it off and got into a combat stance, standing protectively in front of his defenseless pupil.

The Bad-Blood, not thinking that the Ooman posed much of a threat unarmed and unarmored, did not slow his advance, but when he drew too close, the Ooman unleashed a furious succession of kicks, jabs and punches that would surely have been devastating to one of his own kind and injured an unarmored Yautja, but that only drove this one back a few paces.

He was preparing for another barrage of attacks, when he suddenly stopped cold, his eyes wide, and looked down at the long, razor-sharp blade protruding out of his abdomen. While he had been fighting, another one of the Bad-Bloods-the largest one whom his student would later kill-had been creeping up behind him, cloaked, and had impaled him with his Wristblades through the back. Dark crimson blood bloomed instantly over his white uniform, to make a puddle on the floor, and a moment later, he became limp, and was then thrown across the room to slam against the far wall, and land in a heap upon the floor.

"Cowards… Filth…" Kantra said quietly, as the female was then gathered unceremoniously from the floor and slung like a sack across one of the Bad-Blood's shoulders, who then cloaked and departed, along with the others.

What followed was the log of their ship's travel to their hunting planet, which indicated that she had remained unconscious, along with all the others, for the entire journey. The Oomans were then dropped into the middle of the vast jungle and left to awaken on their own, so the Hunt could begin.

As he watched and read, one after another of the males perished: killed by the Bad-Bloods, their beasts, the wildlife, or each other, with some ending their own lives when the pressure became too much. Finally, the female had been traveling with a male-he assumed the last one-wearing what he knew to be the attire of one or another of the branches of their military force. For a little while, they seemed to be doing fairly well, until the hologram showed them sitting around a small fire, when a noise startled them, and, in what had to be the most sickening display of cowardice Kantra had ever witnessed, the male struck his companion in the face, kicked her leg, hard, and ran off into the forest, leaving her as a distraction for whatever he thought was coming. Doubtless, this was the cause of her swollen leg and missing teeth.

Now that she was the only one remaining, the pursuit took a truly disturbing turn. Far from trying to actually kill her, the three outcast Yautja seemed to take a perverse pleasure in simply following her at a distance, letting her know of their presence, and tormenting her relentlessly. They never let her stop for long, and whenever she tried to stop to eat, drink or sleep, there they were, herding her onward so the chase could continue. One of the things they seemed to particularly enjoy was to terrify her when she tried to relieve herself, and thought it quite funny when she tried to run and ended up covered in various amounts of her own waste, which accounted for her stench.

While it was true that Yautja liked a good chase, it always led up to a final confrontation. They never did anything like this; there was no point engaging a creature that was so weak from exhaustion and hunger that it could not put up a proper fight. There was no sport in it; no honor at all.

But this was no Hunt; this was cruelty, plain and simple. As he watched, Kantra got the distinct impression that these three had not intended to actually kill their prey at all; but chase her, terrorizing her at every opportunity, until she finally died from exposure and stress, if the hunger and native wildlife didn't get her first. It was truly a new low, even for them.

But somehow, _somehow_ she had lived. Through all the terror, the pain, and everything else, she had survived, until she could take it no longer, and had decided to make her last stand against them. This was the sort of spirit that made her kind such worthy prey, and Kantra couldn't help but think that, if left on her own planet, and given a few years and a bit more training, she might very well have drawn the attention of a true hunter…and she very well might have come out the victor.

"What a waste…" he muttered to himself, turning off the hologram, because it had reached the point of the fight, and he already knew the details of that.

It was just as well, though, because the Ooman was now beginning to stir from sleep, as evidenced by the movement beneath the blanket. Kantra sat perfectly still in his chair, watching as she slowly returned to consciousness, eventually managing to lift herself a little from the bed and look around, then began to visibly panic. Of course she would be afraid; she must have realized that she was naked, on a bed, onboard the ship of-as far as she was aware-one of the creatures who had taken her from her home, terrorized and pushed her to the breaking point, and had apparently intended to force itself upon her. He began to search his mind for some way to make it clear to her that he meant her no harm; but his attention was momentarily drawn away by the computer's announcement that they were soon to enter Blood Moon's territory, and that the Mother Ship was coming to meet him and would be there quite soon. That would save some time, at least; and he could give his report directly to Elder Yeyinde…

When he turned back to the bed, he saw that Ooman and blanket both were gone, and a quick look around revealed that she had used the distraction to jump up and run across the room's interior to flatten herself against the far wall, clutching the blanket around herself and watching to see what he would do next.

Rising from his chair, Kantra made his way slowly across the room, his hands up a bit to show that he wasn't holding any weapons.

When he stood before her, a change seemed to come over her, and she suddenly covered her face with her hands and sank into a crouch. He could tell from the noises she was making that she was crying, and was completely taken aback by such a display.

"Please… Please… I'm so tired… I can't run anymore…" she said, through her hand, then suddenly stood up and let the blanket fall to the floor, revealing herself to him again, and turning her head away in shame.

"Just do whatever you want, okay? On top, on bottom, bent over, all fours, upside-down, I don't care anymore; I give up. If you want it, you can have it." she said, in a tone of defeat.

Never in his entire life had Kantra felt so utterly helpless and embarrassed. He had absolutely no idea what to do, and certainly no reply for what she had just said, even if she could have understood him. The only thing he could do was back away several paces and try to keep his eyes on her face, and nowhere else.

"What's wrong? That other one seemed interested…" she said, taking a tentative step toward him, and he backed away again.

She continued to try and approach him, and he kept backing away, until he found himself pressed up against the edge of the bed. He looked around for an escape route, but found none; he was cornered, and now _he_ began to panic.

At that precise moment, she took the opportunity to dart to one side, grab his Combistick from where it hung on the wall, and point the business end right at his throat, staring right at him, without a single tear on her face.

The whole thing had been an act.

For a brief moment, he felt relief wash over him like cool water; he had absolutely no idea how he might have gotten out of that situation, but then he realized that, unlike the broken sword now lying in the bottom of the bag, the Combistick could do some serious damage, especially since he had removed his armor while she had been asleep.

At least, it could do damage in the hands of one who knew how to wield it correctly. The female, however, didn't know how to extend the weapon from its compact size in order to utilize its length to its fullest potential. It was for this reason that it was so easy for the Arbitrator to swiftly cross the distance between them and grab it out of her hands before she could do any real harm to him-or more likely, herself.

But as he lifted it up, she came with it, refusing to let go of what she saw as her only means of defense against an enemy of unknown intent.

Slightly amused, he shook the spear gently, trying to dislodge her, but she clung to it with surprising strength for someone in such poor condition.

Shaking it again, a bit harder this time, he watched as she remained attached, though she did not find the experience as entertaining as he did.

Wondering how he was going to handle this, he raised the spear higher into the air, bringing its holder along with it, of course, and up to eye level with him, which made her large feet dangle a fair distance from the floor, even though she was apparently tall for a female of her species.

His earlier experience watching her and the Bad-Blood should have told him what to expect next, but…

A moment later, he was growling indignantly as he used his free hand to wipe her saliva out of his face.

It was then that his crimson eyes caught her dark grey ones, and for a few moments, the two stared at each other. Kantra could see it then; the haunted look that he had seen in some Yautja who had escaped the torture of their Bad-Blood or even Ooman captors. They had come back to their Clans alive; but with that look, the look that meant that a part of them-of their very soul-had been damaged, perhaps beyond repair.

Slowly, he lowered the Combistick, and when she was able to touch the floor again, she let go, retrieved her blanket, covered herself again, and went to sit quietly on the edge of the bed, saying nothing, but seeming to be deep in thought.

She remained like this, sitting there and thinking, while she watched him, until the enormous Mother Ship came into view, at which point Kantra heard her give a gasp of awe, before he guided his own ship inside the landing bay, the airlock closing securely behind it.

When the ship landed, Kantra immediately headed for the door, intending to find first the Elder, and then the Healers, before coming back here and sorting everything out. As he descended the ramp, the Ooman tried to follow him, but before she could take a step outside, he quickly turned and, pointing to her, then the ship, tried to make his meaning clear.

She seemed to understand, and nodded, before walking back over to sit on the bed again. He was relieved to see that she appeared to have calmed down a bit, but all the same, he didn't like the idea of leaving her by herself…with access to so many of his weapons.

He liked a great deal less, however, the prospect of taking her with him as he entered the commonly-used parts of the ship. Even if she had been strong enough to accompany him onboard, she would doubtlessly have been stared at by many of the Blooded, and approached and ogled by the Unblooded and Young Bloods, who had never seen a live Ooman before. He thought she'd been harassed enough for one day. And anyway, the trip back would allow him to explain the situation to Elder Yeyinde, who ultimately would decide whether she should be allowed to remain, be taken back to her own world, or possibly, killed outright; though the likelihood of the latter was slim.

Hurrying along, he did not even stop to acknowledge any of the Young Bloods he passed, though they, of course, bowed respectfully to him. The Blooded Yautja attempted to ask him how his Hunt had gone-for everyone was sure to know about it by now-but he gave a simple reply of "Later.", before moving on.

Finally he arrived at the doors to the Elder's quarters, and the two servants from before opened them for him. He almost ran inside, where he found Elder Yeyinde sitting at a low table, apparently in the middle of a meal, with several large pieces of reddish-pink meat piled on a plate before him.

"Kantra, I was not expecting you so soon. I assumed you would wish to bathe and eat before you came here." he said, laying aside a piece that he'd been about to eat and looking at the Arbitrator with a slightly puzzled expression.

"Forgive my interruption, Elder; but there is a matter of great importance that I must discuss with you."

"Importance? You did not fail on your Hunt?"

"Certainly not! I have two new trophies to show you, in fact."

"Two? I thought they always went out in groups of three?"

"Yes; but that is part of what I need to discuss with you. I did not kill the third one."

"No? Did he escape?"

"No; he is dead…but I am not responsible."

"Then who? And what is that stench?" the older male asked, his tusks clicking slightly as he looked at Kantra.

"Again, that is part of what I came to tell you. Please, come with me, and I will explain everything along the way; I just need to send for the Healers first."

"The Healers? Are you injured?" he asked, but got up and went to stand before the Arbitrator.

"No. Please, come with me…" Kantra said, and the two exited the room, with Elder Yeyinde following him.

It so happened that they ran across a Young Blood two decks down, who had his arms full of Combisticks and looked to be in a rush. Kantra stopped him and, upon seeing the Elder, gave a small yelp and dropped what he was carrying.

"I wish you to fetch as many Healers as you can and have them come to my ship. I do not expect to have to wait for long." he said.

"Forgive me, Arbitrator Kantra; but my instructor wished me to bring these-" the Young Blood began, but Elder Yeyinde cut him off.

"If he wishes to admonish you, tell him to come and see me. I will explain your situation. You will not be punished, on my word." he said, and the younger male hurried off to do as he was told.

They continued on, and Kantra did as he had promised and told the Elder everything that had happened since he landed on the Bad-Bloods' hunting planet, finally finishing a moment before they arrived at the Arbitrator's ship, which by now had five or six Healers standing at the foot of the loading ramp, each looking more puzzled than the next.

"What is this about, Arbitrator? A Young Blood suddenly came into the infirmary and told us of your request to see us, and just a moment ago, on your ship, I thought I saw –" the Senior Healer began, as they approached.

"An Ooman, yes; she is aboard my ship, and she is injured and ailing. She also survived on the Bad-Bloods' world for some time, and killed one of them herself, as I myself witnessed not too long ago. She is weak from exhaustion and hunger, and she has been tormented ceaselessly since she was taken from her own world. I wish you to do everything in your power to help her recover." Kantra said, and looked at each of them in turn, silently daring any of them to protest.

"Yes, Arbitrator." the Senior Healer replied, and they began to climb the ramp, but Kantra stopped them.

"I do not believe she will come with you willingly. Though I am loathe to suggest it, but if I cannot get her to accompany me to the infirmary, is there a way in which you can render her unconscious so you can do your work?" he asked, and they began to converse quietly amongst themselves.

"Unconscious? How much of a struggle could she possibly put up, if her condition is as poor as you say?" Elder Yeyinde asked.

"You would be shocked, Elder, at how much fight she has in her. As I said before, she killed one Bad-Blood, and was willing to take on both of the others, and then me, once I had dealt with them. She even attempted it again onboard my ship, shortly before I landed here. She may be weak at the moment, but she is, as the expression goes, meaner than a Hard Meat Queen. She also has a will to survive and a cunning that is fiercer than you can imagine." the younger male replied seriously.

"Females of any species tend to be; but if she survived as long as you say with three Bad-Bloods chasing her, then I believe you. Take care not to distress her too much; I would like to see what she can do, one she recovers." the Elder said, and began to walk back to his quarters, but turned around a moment later.

"What exactly do you intend to do with her, anyway?" he asked.

"I would like," Kantra began, choosing his words carefully, "to have her trained as a Yautja, and let her undertake the Hard Meat Trial, when the time comes."

"I see… But to what end? And anyway, should she not be returned to her own world? She does not seem old enough to be on her own; does she not have relations to look after her?"

"I believe that she could bring great honor and glory to our clan, if she were trained properly. As for a family…I do not know." Kantra admitted. In all this time, he had not really stopped to think that perhaps the Ooman's mother and father were still desperately looking for their pup, not knowing that she was further away than they could ever fathom.

"Well, find out before you start thinking about training her. Besides, it would have to be several years before she was able to be considered an Unblooded; she is just too young. What did you intend to do with her in the meantime? A hunters' ship is no place for a pup."

Kantra had no answer for this; in his excitement at the prospect of having the female trained as a huntress, he hadn't given much thought to what she would do until she reached the proper age. And what if she didn't want to hunt in the first place? Her actions earlier had been for survival; she hadn't _chosen_ to be taken to that place; it was forced upon her.

It was at that moment that Kantra realized just how big a mess he had made, and he hated himself for his foolishness. How had he not foreseen such complications? He'd had the exact kind of delusions of grandeur that he was constantly trying to quash in the Young Bloods that he taught; ridiculous notions of some glorious future, when the simple fact was that hunters were not guaranteed a future of _any_ kind. They, for the most part, had to take their lives day by day, and be thankful for even that much.

"But if she has no relations?" he asked, deciding to try and salvage his plan, for pride would not him abandon it, now that he had thought it out so carefully-or assumed he had, anyway.

The Elder sighed.

"If she has no one, no home to return to, if she agrees to be trained, if she accepts our ways and follows our laws, and if you can figure out what to do with her until she is of age; then you may train her as you see fit. Now, if you have no other surprises for me, I will go and finish my meal." he said.

"Thank you, Elder." Kantra said, bowing, and the older male departed, his long cape swishing softly behind him as he walked.

There were a lot of "ifs" attached to his plan; it could be undone at any level, almost, and the whole experience would leave him looking like a complete fool, but perhaps…

No; he must not let himself think too far ahead. Right now, the only thing he should be thinking about was getting her strength back before she succumbed to her condition. If she died now, there would be no need to even think of any of the other things he'd imagined.

Walking up the ramp, the Healers gathering on either side to watch, he again boarded the ship and looked around for the Ooman, whom he saw was sitting-in the chair this time-and waiting for something to happen. This was odd; she seemed to have settled down quite a bit since the two had stared at each other earlier… Had she seen something in him that had led to this sudden change?

Shaking himself out of his musing, he spoke again to her in her own language.

" **Come."**

She nodded and rose, following him out of the ship, where the Healers, almost as eager as pups, gathered around to have a closer look at her with their own handheld medical scanners, which were far more thorough than the ones in the standard Yautja's Bio-Mask, talking quietly amongst themselves and too each other as they did so.

"Severe exhaustion…coupled with the onset of starvation and dehydration… She would not have lasted much longer…"

"She is practically a suckling! What were those wretches _thinking_?"

"Absolutely filthy! A wonder the injury to her jaw has not become infected; though I believe a couple more of her teeth will have to be removed."

"That leg needs to be dealt with, too…"

"It looks to be simply a deep bruise; I do not foresee it causing any long-term complications."

"I meant the swelling."

All the while this was going on, she stood quietly, occasionally looking questioningly at Kantra, who returned what he hoped she would see as a reassuring look. At last, the Healers all seemed to be satisfied, and turned to the Arbitrator with their conclusion.

"The first priority should be a thorough cleansing. After that, she should be fed and given some water immediately, and then allowed to rest for awhile before we begin treating her injuries. Luckily, her wounds are minor overall, and she should be in relatively good condition in a week or so. I do wonder, though, how she managed to survive so long…and to engage a Bad-Blood…much less win…" the Senior Heeler said.

"Sheer force of will." Kantra said seriously, looking at the female.

"What I would like," the Healer continued, "would be to actually _speak_ with her about her condition. As I am sure you are aware, all of our equipment and techniques are for Yautja, and we do not have much data on how to treat Ooman injuries. Anything we give her may do more harm than good." he continued.

Kantra was silent. He had been thinking of the same problem during the voyage here. While it was true that the language translators the Yautja possessed would allow them to get a decent grasp of the Ooman language, and could record and repeat their words, they were designed for the intention of luring, unnerving or frightening prey; not for holding actual conversation. He knew that older hunters, who had more experience with Oomans, had a good grasp of their talk, and that a kind of sign language had been used successfully at different times in the past; but there was no time for this at the moment.

It was then that he hit upon an idea.

"Perhaps I can go and see the Quartermaster. He always did enjoy a challenge; if he does not have anything on hand, I believe he will not be able to resist the chance to make something himself." he said.

"Then shall we take the Ooman in to our care?" one of the Healers inquired.

"Not yet; I will let her bathe in my quarters, and then you may tend to her." the Arbitrator replied firmly, and they bowed and left.

"Come." he said to the female, and began to walk in the direction of his quarters, and she followed him again.

He had hoped to wait until a time when the corridors of the massive ship would be less crowded; but the situation being what it was, there was no way of avoiding the multiple Young Bloods and Blooded that they passed along the way.

Every one of them stopped to bow to Kantra, before noticing the Ooman behind him, and without fail, every one had some question or comment. These ranged from asking him what she was doing there to a couple saying they obviously needed to lay off the C'ntlip, if they were seeing Soft Meats prowling about. She seemed to stay close to him, and once or twice, he had to stop abruptly to avoid running into someone who was hurrying along for whatever reason, and felt her bump lightly into him from behind.

As they reached the corridor in which Kantra's quarters were located, there were far fewer residents in this area, as it was reserved for high-ranking individuals, and so the place was very quiet. In fact, the only sound that could really be heard were the Arbitrator's own footsteps, along with the soft patting of the female's own bare feet on the metal floor.

Once inside, he gestured for her to remain there, and went into the washroom. The temperature that he normally preferred for the water far too hot for her, he decided, and lowered it to a level that he thought might be more comfortable. He activated the shower setting, as a bath would just have all the filth that covered her floating around in the tub.

Returning to the room, he rummaged around in a closet until he found a washcloth, towel, and a bar of the rough soap that was the only thing that would effectively wash away all the dirt, blood and debris one accumulated during a Hunt.

Handing these things to her, he led her to the washroom door and gestured to the still-running shower.

She did not need a verbal cue this time, and hurried inside, looking suspiciously over her shoulder to see if he was going to try and join her.

" **I leave now."** he growled, as she was about to shut the door.

"Are you coming back? I don't know if I want to be by myself here… You're the only one I know…sort of…" she said, but sounding as though she didn't like to admit it.

" **Soon. Wash now."** he said, and she nodded and shut the door. A moment later, he heard her enter the tub and then, a loud sigh; she must have been beyond pleased to finally have the chance to bathe after so long.

Knowing that females tended to take their time with their hygiene and grooming rituals, Kantra did not have to run for the Quartermaster as he had for Elder Yeyinde. When he finally reached the place, an enormous room full of technical devices, armor, Bio-Masks, and all sorts of other things, the Quartermaster-whose name was Kwei-was busy sharpening a set of Wristblades, but rose and bowed when he saw who had entered.

This Yautja was dark brownish-green in color, and a little shorter than Kantra, but was just as respected; for it was he who kept the Clan supplied with their basic weapons and supplies, and no other knew quite so well how to handle such a massive inventory. A crippled leg attained in his youth had ended his hunting days; but he had managed to restore his honor by becoming Quartermaster to the Blood Moon Clan; helping other hunters equip themselves for the adventures in which he could no longer participate.

"Greetings, Arbitrator. Did your Hunt go well?" he asked.

"Indeed. I rid the world of two more affronts to our people."

"And I hear that you came back with something besides trophies." he continued, his fierce green eyes surveying the younger male.

"So everyone knows already?"

"The only that travels faster than our starships is gossip. You know that, Kantra." he said. He was one of the few-the _very_ few-who could get away with addressing the taller hunter so casually.

"And it all comes directly to you."

"Most everything on this ship passes through here eventually; information just takes up less space. In any case, what do you wish of me? Were any of your weapons or equipment damaged?"

"No; they had no time to do any damage to me. What I have for you is a challenge: would it be possible that you have in your possession some sort of translation device? I require something that would let the Ooman understand us, I mean; our language and such."

"I do not believe I have anything like that on hand; it is so rare that we communicate with them… However, I do not think that creating such a device would be too difficult…for me, anyway. When do you need it?"

"As soon as possible."

"Ah, I had hoped so! Such a thing, to my knowledge, has never been made… I believe that I start immediately, I could have something ready before tomorrow."

"So soon? Do you not have other things to finish?" Kantra asked, looking past him to a table on which were at least a dozen more pairs of Wristblades waiting to be sharpened.

"They are for the Young Bloods, who will take what I give them when I give it and be grateful for my time and effort." Kwei said, noticing where the other was looking.

"Then you have my gratitude, Kwei. Now I must return to my quarters and see to the Ooman. She will need to visit the infirmary soon, and I believe I will have to stay with her during that time, to avoid…incidents."

He bowed and was about to walk away, when a thought struck him, and he turned around.

"You would not happen to have any clothing that might fit her, would you?" he asked, but was sure of the answer.

"For an Ooman, no. I do have a bit of cloth, though; she may be able to make some kind of covering out of it…" the other male trailed off, looking around the various shelves and containers, until he returned to Kantra with several large pieces and strips of plain brown cloth.

"Not the most visually appealing, but it will cover her, I believe." Kwei said, handing the bundle to Kantra, who again bowed and left, noticing that the Quartermaster had begun to pace back and forth in the room, talking quietly to himself about how to go about constructing the translator.

When he returned to his quarters, the female was just exiting the washroom, wrapped in the towel, and heaving another heavy sigh of contentment. Now that she was clean, she looked much as she had in the Bad-Bloods' holographic records; though she was thinner and her skin a little darker and red in places from her exposure to the sun. She had managed to get her hair clean as well, and it hung in a thick mass almost to her behind. How she managed such a mane was beyond him, but as he watched, she sat in a nearby chair and began running her fingers through it, untangling knots and trying to get it as neat as possible.

" _That will have to go, if she is to go on any Hunt."_ he thought, and wondered how that concept would go over when-if-the time came.

For now, however, he made a small noise in his throat to get her attention, making her jump slightly instead, because she'd been concentrating so deeply on what she was doing.

" **For you."** he said, holding out the bundle to her, and though it took her a moment to figure out his intention, she got up and took it from him.

"Thanks… Do you want me to wear these?" she asked.

He nodded, and turned around so she could dress, keeping his eyes firmly on the far wall, until she said:

"Okay, you can look now."

She had used the cloth to drape herself in what looked like at least a couple of layers, securing it with the belt she'd been wearing in her hair earlier, which appeared to be a little damp, showing that she'd washed it to try and get the smell out. It seemed strange to Kantra that she was showing so much modesty now; for only her arms and feet were visible, and nothing else from the neck down.

"I put your blanket over there. I think that's where the dirty clothes go, right?" she asked, inclining her head in the direction of the laundry container, in which the blanket now lay.

"I couldn't figure out how to turn off the water, though. Sorry 'bout that." she admitted, so Kantra did it for her.

"So…what now? I'm really grateful for the help and the bath and everything; but I need to get home. I don't know if the group home even noticed I'm gone yet; but I know Sensei's damn sure gonna be wondering where I went. See, he only just gave me my black belt, and I went and disappeared for God knows how long…" she explained, showing him the piece of black cloth around her waist.

It suddenly clicked into place for Kantra that this "Sen-Say" she mentioned, and whose name she had called out in her sleep aboard his ship, was the same Ooman who had presented her with the belt she now wore…the same Ooman who had tried to defend her from the Bad-Bloods, and had paid for it with his life.

Kantra was not looking forward to that conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own AVP, just my characters and story ideas.**

 **Chapter 4**

Grey had never felt so relieved in her entire life. Even though she was still tired and hungry, and her leg and jaw hurt like hell, the shower she'd just taken really made her feel better. Now, as she looked at the tall hunter standing in the middle of the room, she wondered what his endgame was; did he intend to chase her around some other alien world, as the others had?

She didn't think so. He hadn't shown any sign of real aggression-towards her-since their first encounter; even with that crap she'd pulled on his ship earlier.

" _Can't_ believe _I just did that…"_ she'd thought, as she'd put the blanket back around her and sat on the bed, his eyes never leaving her.

Those eyes… Those dark crimson eyes… She had looked into them when he'd held her up while she still gripped that spear thing, and something seemed to have passed between them; a sudden realization on her part that he'd been through some of the same shit in his life that she had in hers. They had then come to some strange sort of understanding, and she had, for some reason, calmed down a lot since then.

" _This guy's different from the other ones."_ she had realized, as she'd watched him. He was more… _noble_.

Grey had been absolutely horrified when she'd woken up aboard his ship, but was glad that she'd woken up at all, after having passed out with the huge alien standing in front of her.

She was somewhat relieved to find that he had covered her with a blanket, and didn't seem to have done anything untoward to her as she'd slept.

In fact, the sight of her naked seemed to have unnerved him, which she discovered when he'd backed away from her during her later ploy to defend herself, though looking back, there really hadn't been anything to defend herself _from_ , and she actually did feel bad for freaking him out. And in any case, that experience had taught her that he could have gotten any weapon from and used it on her before she had a chance to even think about harming him. She was just lucky, she thought, that he was such a good sport.

Finally, they landed in what she soon realized must be some kind of mother ship, and when he disembarked, she tried to follow, but he made it clear that he wanted her to remain here for the time being and, knowing that there was no point in arguing, she obeyed, sitting back on the bed to await his return. He had come to get her some time later, and this time allowed her to come outside with him.

She had nearly passed out again when she'd been surrounded by the ones who'd ran some sort of device over her body, appearing to converse among themselves as they did so, but since he was standing near her, and he was calm, she let the others do their thing, and then they had gone, leaving her perplexed, but unharmed.

He had then taken her through a number of wide hallways and rooms, where they had encountered several more of his kind, who all stopped to bow their heads to him, no matter what they had been doing at the time. From this, Grey got the impression that he was some kind of big shot around here. The other members of his species had acted completely shocked when they had noticed her, and a couple tried to get a closer look, but had been, as far as she could make out, told off by the big guy, and had gone about their business, casting bewildered looks over their shoulders at her as they walked away.

When they had arrived at what she soon realized must be his bedroom, he had disappeared into another room for a moment, and which gave Grey the opportunity to look around.

There was no doubt that this was his bedroom. An enormous pile of various kinds of pelts and giant cushions off to one side must have been his bed, and there were a couple of big cabinets and what have may been a closet on the far wall. There were also several skulls from varying species of aliens, and a couple that she immediately recognized as being human, on display around the room, and one entire wall was covered in dozens of bladed weapons and different types of the shoulder-mounted gun that he'd used on those dog creatures earlier. She had to admire some of the knives; their ornate handles and perfectly-honed blades shone in the soft light that emanated from the ceiling, and the swords were absolutely _gorgeous_! It was a strange thing, her admiration for blades; but given the choice, she would rather have carried a knife-or preferably a sword-than a gun, even if she never had to use it, and she didn't really know how, anyway.

Another look at the bed made her yawn widely; she was still incredibly tired, even after the big guy had let her take a nap on his ship. The few dreams she could remember had been plagued by roaring aliens and lunging hellhounds; and running, always running. Several times she had called out for her Sensei, somehow thinking that he would be able to help her, but he didn't come to rescue, though she could hear his voice so clearly, telling her to keep _moving_ …keep _fighting_ …

But she'd been moving and fighting for so long now, and all she wanted now was to go home. Even if it was back to that shabby group home, where the six other kids avoided her like the plague; and that God-awful "elite" school, where she got the same treatment. The one good thing in her life was Sensei, whose martial arts classes were her only refuge anymore. He seemed to be the only one on Earth who didn't avoid her completely, stare at her and whisper as she passed by, or torment her at every opportunity.

Her heart ached when she thought of this, and turned her attention back to the hunter, who had returned from the other room, from which could be heard the sound of running water, making Grey ask herself internally what would come next.

This was answered when he rummaged around in a closet and brought out a towel, washcloth, and what she later discovered to be a bar of soap, and pointed to the other room, which she suddenly realized was the bathroom.

He didn't need to tell her what to do, and she took the items gratefully from him and began to go into the bathroom, though looking back at him to see if he was following her.

" **I leave now."** he'd said, in his growling voice, as she was shutting the door.

This made her a little scared, because as nervous as he made her, she didn't want to be alone in this strange place, either.

"Are you coming back? I don't know if I want to be by myself here… You're the only one I know…sort of…" she'd muttered, her face going red as she did so.

" **Soon. Wash now."** he'd said, and, as she got the impression that he was not the type to lie, nodded and went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

This room bore enough resemblance to a human bathroom for her to figure things out pretty quickly. The shower was pretty much the same, only quite a bit bigger, and as she'd taken her soap and washcloth and stepped inside, she had to sigh deeply at how amazing the warm water felt after so long without a proper bath.

It had felt like ages, but finally she had managed to scrub away all the layers of filth that she'd accumulated on her unwanted vacation, and after some considerable effort, her hair came clean, thanks in large part to the strange soap, which didn't really lather, but cleaned like nothing she'd ever even heard about. While she was in there, she took the opportunity to wash her belt, which was said to be bad luck, but she figured that since it smelled like week-old bait, it would be forgivable this one time. At last, the water that ran down the drain in the floor ran clear, and she stepped out and wrapped the towel around her, wishing that she knew how to turn off the shower, at least, and dried herself off as much as possible, before heading back into the main room and putting the blanket in a large container that she thought must be where the dirty clothes were supposed to go, before remembering her belt, still in the bathroom, and going to retrieve it, before going back into the room.

He was just coming back inside when she got there, carrying a bundle of what looked like brown cloth, and watched her curiously as she sat in a chair and began the task of trying to get all the tangles out of her hair, which was an endeavor even when she had a brush, let alone when it was in such a sorry state and she had to use her fingers as a comb. Still, it was one of the few things she took real pride in, and so she submitted to the fact that she would be occupied for quite some time.

A small noise from him made her jump a little, and she looked up to see him holding the bundle out to her.

"For you." he growled, a little more softly than before, and she took it from him with a small smile.

"Thanks… Do you want me to wear these?"

He nodded, and turned away from her to give her a degree of privacy as she laid the towel in the chair and unfolded the bundle, revealing it to be several pieces of a kind of cloth that felt like rough cotton, though she was sure that was not the case.

With a little imagination and some creative folding, she managed to use all the pieces to make a body-covering kind of toga thing that was held in place by her still slightly-damp belt. It felt good to be wearing something other than the mangled remains of her uniform or a borrowed blanket.

"Okay, you can look now." she announced, and he turned around to consider her for a moment, before she spoke again.

"I put your blanket over there. I think that's where the dirty clothes go, right?" she asked, nodding in the direction of where she'd left it, and continued before he had time to answer.

"I couldn't figure out how to turn off the water, though. Sorry 'bout that."

In response to this, he left momentarily and did it himself, then came back and continued to look at her. Feeling awkward in the silence, she went on.

"So…what now? I'm really grateful for the help and the bath and everything; but I need to get home. I don't know if the group home even noticed I'm gone yet; but I know Sensei's damn sure gonna be wondering where I went. See, he only just gave me my black belt, and I went and disappeared for God knows how long…" she said, knowing that she was rambling, and that he probably didn't understand half of what she was saying, but pressed on anyway.

When she showed him her belt, however, the sight of it seemed to make him a little uncomfortable. Had she offended him somehow? He shook it off, and spoke to her again.

" **Come."**

And he led her out of the room and through another series of corridors and rooms, again passing more of his kind, who were just as curious about his new companion as they had been earlier. After about ten minutes, they arrived at another room, and upon entering, she found it to be occupied by the same-she was pretty sure-five or six aliens who had crowed around her when she'd arrived.

As she looked around this new room, she saw that it contained various strange-looking devices and instruments. A metal tray nearby held an array of what she though may have been scalpels of varying description, and a couple of syringes. There were a few basic cots here as well, and as she put all of these things together, she realized that this must be some kind of hospital for the ship.

" _Then these guys must be doctors or something."_ she reasoned, and indeed, they were now all wearing long smocks of a similar cloth to what she had on, and a couple were busy holding their hands under some kind of faucet thing from which a clear-pink goo was emanating, and which dried almost upon contact, leaving a noticeable film.

"Liquid surgical gloves. Neat." she thought, intrigued by the concept.

One of them came over to the big guy, and they must have started talking about her, because they occasionally looked or gestured in her direction, until both seemed to be satisfied, and the bigger male turned back to her.

" **They help."** he said.

And before she had time to respond, one of them lifted her, surprisingly gently, onto a long metal examination table, her legs dangling almost four feet off the floor, and they crowded around once again.

She had been fairly willing to let them attend to her wounds, until the lead doctor began tugging at her newly-made toga, and she yelped and tried to keep him from unclothing her in front of the rest of them.

" **They do nothing. They help."** the big guy said, and she figured he meant to reassure her, but it wasn't really working.

" **I stay."** he said.

This did seem to help, and so, with a groan of defeat and a burning face, she allowed them to undress and examine her, while he again turned around, though he did take her clothes when they were handed to him by one of the others.

She was relieved to find that these guys were indeed very professional. Though their examination was thorough, it was in no way inappropriate or invasive, and their aim apparently was to tend to her wounds, which was managed in a few ways.

Their attention was first drawn to the gash across her nose, for which they brought out a thick blue paste that, when applied by a small swab, burned like hell, causing her eyes to water and her to yell out a long string of particularly vulgar swears. They, however, appeared to be used to such a reaction to this particular treatment, and ignored her. In a few minutes, the wound had stopped hurting, and they continued.

They next brought out a small cup of some dark green liquid, which, with some gesturing and help from her "friend", she figured must be some kind of oral antiseptic for her jaw.

"Cheers…" she muttered, and took a mouthful, finding that this stuff had no taste, and didn't burn as much as the blue paste, but tingled to an almost unbearable degree. Not knowing what else to do, she swished it around like mouthwash, which did seem to be correct, until it was indicated to her to spit it out in a provided container. When this was done, she felt the pain in her jaw disappearing, and could almost feel the swelling in the right side of her face beginning to go down.

Most of her other wounds-small scratches and cuts from running around in the jungle-would be left to heal on their own, she figured, as they paid little attention to them, but when it came to her badly-bruised leg, they all put their heads together and looked to be discussing something.

Disappearing for a moment into another room, one of them returned with a rather large syringe half-full of a yellowish liquid, and stopped to check something on some kind of computer before coming over to her. The others now looked a little tense; as though they were preparing for a fight. She then realized that they had probably heard all about her exploits on the jungle planet and the big guy's ship, and were ready to intervene if this did not go smoothly.

"Still." the bigger hunter said, and she decided not to put up a struggle, not that it would have done much good against seven of them, anyway.

The insertion of the huge needle was worse than the paste, but that was probably because she couldn't take her eyes away from it as it approached the huge, black-and-blue patch on her lower leg where the Navy SEAL had kicked it out from under her. Finally it was in deep enough to suit the doctor, who then proceeded to inject the yellow fluid into the area.

She was glad to find that this didn't burn or tingle at all, but it did make the aching in the leg stop very quickly.

At last, they seemed to be satisfied, and she was put back onto the floor and allowed to re-dress herself, finding it far easier to stand and walk around now that her leg wasn't hurting quite so badly.

"Uh, thanks, all of you…" she said, and, figuring that it would be understood better, bowed respectfully as Sensei had taught her when she stood barely above his knees.

They did seem to get the idea, and looked pleased, as did the big guy, who bowed to them as well-though differently-and had her follow him again.

While they were walking, he stopped the first hunter he ran into and, after a brief conversation, let him go about his business. Grey wondered what that was about, but knew that it would do no good to ask questions, and continued padding along behind him.

They went back to his room, where he went over to the bed and started re-arranging some of the pelts and cushions, and she again got slightly nervous.

"Hey, you know that stuff I said earlier… You know I was just messing with you, right?" she said, watching him intently. She had really been freaked out by the way the other hunter had tried to feel her up, and was wondering if others of his species had the same thing on their minds as he had.

She was, again, mistaken about his intentions, and as she watched, he pulled one of the larger cushions-big enough for her to stretch out on comfortably-out from the pile and put it on the other side of the room, followed by a huge black pelt that shone beautifully when it hit the light.

" **For you."** he said, when he was finished, gesturing to it.

Grey wasted no time in claiming what she now knew to be her bed as her own, and sat down on the cushion, finding it surprisingly comfortable, and watched to see what the big guy would do next. This was answered when he went back to his own bed, put it back the way he liked it, and sat, cross-legged, upon it, looking back at her.

So, I've been thinking…" she began, hating the silence that filled the room.

This got his attention, and he leaned forward a little, apparently interested in what she had to say. He had a curious nature, Grey thought, and that was probably what made it so easy to get along with him, kind of.

"Right… Well, you know you saved my ass back there… Then I went and freaked you out and, you know, threatened you with your own weapon and stuff… So…I'm sorry. I've been having kind of a rough time lately, though, with being kidnapped and hunted, so I'm kind on edge…" she said, distracting herself while she talked by smoothing a couple of wrinkles on her toga.

He did understand this, apparently, and waved his hand in a sort of "forget about it" gesture, which made her feel a little better.

"Yeah, thanks… Anyway, I was wondering, do you have, I don't know…a name? Like, what do I call you?" she asked, and he cocked his head and clicked his mandibles a few times, and she didn't know if he'd understood her meaning or not.

"Okay, let's try this, then… I'm Grey. Grey. That's my name, Grey." she said, pronouncing it slowly, but hoping he didn't think that she though he was stupid.

He nodded in sudden understanding, and pointed to her.

" **Grey. You. Grey."** he said.

"Right! And you…?" she asked, looking at him questioningly.

" **Kantra."** he said, and she didn't think she heard right, so she asked him again.

" **Kantra. You, Grey. I, Kantra."** he growled in reply.

"Okay… Kantra. I'm Grey, and you're Kantra." she said, thinking that it really was a nice name.

Before the conversation could progress, however, there was a soft chiming sound, and the big guy-Kantra-rose from the bed to answer the door.

Standing there was another hunter, though this one looked to be quite a bit younger, and not nearly as strongly-built. In his hands he held a large tray, on which was a platter, piled with a great quantity of meat, and several large, pale reddish-yellow fruits shaped a little like mangos. There was also a pitcher, a bottle, and two small, shallow bowls, all neatly arranged. The smaller hunter looked past Kantra, to where Grey was sitting and, feeling self-conscious, she raised a hand in greeting. He looked curiously at her for another moment, before handing the platter to the larger male, bowing, and hurrying away.

Kantra brought the tray over and set it in front of him, taking up his original position on the bed, before pouring a dark amber-brown liquid from it into one of the bowls, and drinking it in one swallow, shuddering a little as it went down, and pouring himself some of the contents of the pitcher.

The smell of the meat made Grey's stomach growl and lurch painfully, and she suddenly remembered how _hungry_ she was. She didn't know if Kantra had heard her stomach, or if he'd figured it out on his own, but, after taking a drink from his bowl, turned his attention back to her.

" **You need food. Come eat."** he said, which was all the invitation Grey needed.

Crossing the room, she took a spot beside him on the bed, though not too close, and looked at the contents of the tray. Several large pieces of meat were lying before her, some of them cooked, some obviously raw. It was one of the larger raw ones that Kantra was now eating, so Grey took one of the cooked ones, which she assumed were there for her.

She couldn't believe how _good_ this was! This stuff, whatever it was, was even better than the Kobe beef Sensei had made especially for her fifteenth birthday a few months before, and there was a lot more of it.

" **Not too much. Eat slowly."** Kantra cautioned, and she knew that he must have known that eating too much too quickly after a prolonged period without much or any food could cause a lot of harm. So, even though she was ravenous, she dutifully followed his advice.

" **Drink."** he said, after a few minutes, gesturing to the pitcher and remaining bowl, and she poured some of the contents into it and drank deeply. It turned out to be water, or at least she thought so; but it was the cleanest-tasting water she'd ever drank in her life.

After a little while, she felt as though she'd had enough, and looked at the plain bottle from which Kantra had first drank, noticing a kind of spicy smell coming from it, and wondering what that could possibly be.

" **C'ntlip."** he said, noticing that she was looking at it, and then, a moment later, added firmly:

" **Too young."**

" _In other words, forget about it, kid."_ Grey thought, and deduced that this stuff must be alcoholic or something, and nodded.

Pretty soon, the same alien from before was allowed to come in and take the tray and its remaining contents away, after which, Grey let out a long yawn and contented sigh. Now that she was clean and full, sleep was once again calling to her, and Kantra noticed.

" **Sleep now."** he said, gesturing to the cushion and pelt.

Grey didn't need to be told again, and went over to her new bed, pulled the enormous pelt over herself, and was soon feeling the beginnings of sleep.

" _Sensei's never gonna believe all this…"_ she thought, before sleep finally claimed her.

Sometime later, Grey awoke, feeling better than she had since she'd been taken, and as the sleep-induced fog cleared from her brain, she lay there under the pelt and began to wonder, what now?

Now that she was on the road to recovery, Grey wondered what exactly was going to be done with her after she was back to 100%. Was Kantra planning to keep her as some sort of concubine? A pet? She didn't think that she was going to be hunted again; but there were a lot of other possibilities that were just as bad, if not worse…

She rolled over and looked at the ceiling, where several lights shone softly down on the room below, and realized that she needed to use the bathroom…badly.

Thankfully, the facilities that Kantra and his people used were very similar to those of most Earth bathrooms, and she pretty sure that the stack of large white sheets nearby were meant to be toilet paper, because they dissolved the moment they touched the bottom of the bowl. As she washed her hands at the sink, which was automatic, she had to marvel at the level of technology that Kantra and his people possessed, and that it went hand-in-hand with what she was sure was a tribal culture.

Speaking of Kantra; where had the big guy gone? She hadn't seen him when she'd had to sprint into the bathroom, and he wasn't there now.

Grey had never been a very social person; which probably explained some of why she was not more popular at school, and she'd never really been affectionate, which was why none of her foster parents had kept her long, but she also was not comfortable being in this strange place alone.

Lying back on her cushion, she decided that the only thing she could do would be to wait until he came back, and turned her thoughts to other things.

Like remembering how ruthlessly and efficiently Kantra had eliminated the other two hunters. The sheer skill…amazing. Judging by all of the skulls and weapons on the walls, he'd had a lot of practice, and she wondered if all his people were as proficient.

Sensei wouldn't approve; she knew that much. He believed in fair, hand-to-hand combat whenever possible, but he had been talking about teaching her how to use traditional weapons soon, and she was looking forward to that.

She had entered Sensei's class when she'd been five, when the group home had been getting a lot more money from the government, and her foster mother had tried to find activities to keep the kids occupied so they wouldn't get into as much trouble. She had loved it. Perhaps it was because the home was so noisy and chaotic most of the time, but Grey had loved the organization, the sense of tradition, the discipline, the strict rules…

When the amount of government money every month had dropped, most of the other kids had been forced to stop going to ballet, swimming lessons and soccer, but Sensei had come to the home himself and told Grey's foster mother that she could keep going for free. She liked to think that it was because he'd seen talent in her at such an early age, rather than pitied her because she was the smallest, skinniest one in the class and who never had anyone show up to watch her practice.

So, even though she'd regularly had to wear a secondhand _gi_ donated by one of the older students, she had persisted in her learning for ten years, and through her hard work, had become one of the youngest black belts in the dojo's history; though to be fair, it had only opened the year before she'd started coming.

Sensei had been, in his way, more of a parent to Grey than anyone before, and she was fiercely loyal to him and the dojo. He had never mentioned her history, but instead told her to look to the future; a far cry from some of the comments others in the neighborhood regularly made about and to her.

In school, she always made high honor roll, and in fact was two classes ahead of her typical age group. She never got into any trouble, even though she was hassled almost relentlessly by the rich kids, who'd heard about her from their parents and took it upon themselves to bother her in some way every chance they got. Sensei's dojo was the one place where she could find a little relief from the outside world, where even though she was fluent in five languages, had never been in trouble in her life, and never bothered anyone, it seemed to be inevitable that she would be forever an outcast, all because her parents were-

The sound of the door opening interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see Kantra standing there, with what she supposed was a troubled look on his face, though really, she hadn't been around him and his people nearly long enough to be able to properly discern their facial expressions.

"What's up?" she asked.

" **Elder wishes to see you."** he said.

"Elder? What, like your leader?" she said, and he nodded.

" **Come."** he said, and she got off the cushion and followed him again, this time being led up to a very wide, quiet corridor with many skulls along the walls, quite a few of which she saw were from humans.

"Wait here." Kantra said, when they'd arrived before a huge, ornate door, in front of which stood two hunters who looked like they'd seen better days; one having no limbs on his right side, the other missing a hand, mandible, eye, and with bad burn marks all over. Grey, not wanting to stare, turned her attention elsewhere.

Her eyes immediately came to rest upon an especially large display of skulls, the largest one of these having a wide, intricate crest, but no discernable eye sockets, though there were a large number of metallic-looking teeth in its mouth… _both_ of them actually…

"Well, that's disturbing." she muttered, and looked at the other skulls. A couple of them also had crests, but weren't quite as big as the main one, while another's skull was ridged here and there, and another curved backwards, reminding her vaguely of a banana. All of them had the same kind of metallic fangs, and none of them had any eyes. There were also various pieces of what looked almost like black armor, some tube-looking things, a couple of sharp, blade-like pieces, and one four-fingered black hand that looked disturbingly human…

Also in the display were a few weapons; some she recognized from when Kantra had used them, others she didn't. One thing she noticed, however, was that a couple of them seemed to be melted; though she had no idea what could do damage like that.

"Hate to run into one of these things…" she said to herself as she continued to gaze at the display.

A hand on her shoulder made her jump, and without even thinking, grabbed one of the items from the case-a long, black bladed thing that might have been part of one of those creatures, and brought it around in a fluid motion…

…to point directly at Kantra's throat.

"How does someone so damn _big_ move so damn quietly?" she asked, lowering the fragment and staring at him, before he held out his hand for it and, when she'd surrendered it, carefully put it back where it belonged.

" **Go now; in there."** he said, pointing to the now-open door.

"Aren't you coming?" she asked.

" **You go alone. Things to do; I return soon."** he replied, and made to leave, before turning around and speaking again.

" **Remember your place. Behave."**

And then he left the room, leaving Grey to face this new hunter alone.

There was nothing else she could do, so she walked past the two servants-that's what they acted like, anyway-and through the door, with a small "Hey, how's it going?" to them as she went.

The room beyond was darker than Kantra's or the hallways, and absolutely full of things. There were skulls, weapons, armor… Here and there, a small hologram was showing different hunters fighting a myriad of beasts, and on the ceiling was projected a breathtaking view of a spiral galaxy against the velvet blackness of space, more beautiful and detailed than any planetarium could ever re-create.

The sound of another door opening got her attention, and she turned to see another hunter, this one clad in a long cape of supple brown leather, with many gold rings adorning his graying dreadlocks. One of his light-brown eyes was missing, but the other surveyed her with a gaze that told her that he was used to nothing less than the utmost respect. Even from this distance, she could almost feel the aura of experience of wisdom he had gained through his countless Hunts and experiences.

As he crossed the room, Grey, who by now had a slightly red face, bowed low, which she was sure was the only correct response to meeting someone of this hunter's rank.

He came to stand before her, and she kept her eyes instinctively on the floor, knowing that he must be the first to speak.

He walked around her a few times, and to her surprise, she didn't flinch or shudder when one of his warm, dry hands tilted her head up to look at the bruise on her neck where the other hunter had held her before.

" **You are called Grey, yes?"** he asked at length, in a deep, rumbling growl, and she could tell that his grasp of English was far better than Kantra's.

"Y-Yes…" she said.

He considered her for another moment, before gesturing to two huge cushions in one corner of the room.

" **We shall sit and talk."** he said; it wasn't a request.

She tried to sit down as gracefully as she could, and once he was seated-somewhat more casually-he spoke again.

" **Kantra has showed me the record of your fight with the Bad-Blood. Not many of our own pups of your age could have faced such odds and survived, let alone an Ooman. I congratulate you."** he rumbled, nodding approvingly.

Bad-Blood? Pups? Ooman? These words made no sense to Grey, but she decided not to ask too many questions.

"Uh, thank you…Sir…" she said, her face going even redder. She got the impression that a compliment from this guy was almost a cause for celebration amongst the hunters, and didn't want to offend him by acting either too casual or too boastful about the feat.

"Yeyinde. _Elder_ Yeyinde, to you; or just Elder. I am the leader of the Blood Moon Clan, on whose ship you now reside. You are here before me because it is a very rare occurrence that _any_ member of your kind is honored with such an opportunity as you may soon have." the Elder said.

"So, I guess you guys don't interact with humans much?" she asked.

" **Not on a social basis, no. We are called the Yautja; we are hunters of honorable prey from more worlds than you could possibly imagine."**

"Honorable prey, huh? Guess I should be flattered, then…" she said, the sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Absolutely not. You are a pup-a child-and a female; therefore to any true Yautja hunter, you are not considered worthy prey." he said sternly.

" **Though, in few years, perhaps…"** he added, a moment later.

"Then, those three that took me?" she asked, changing the subject.

"We call them Bad-Bloods. They are a different sort of Yautja from us, though we originate from the same world. They have no concept of honor or respect for those they hunt; they only care for the kill."

"And how is that different from other…Yautja?" she inquired, trying out the word for the first time.

" **It is different because we respect our prey. We live by a Code of Honor, and its laws are absolute. We do not take the weak, the sick, females, pups, or those who present no threat. We do not kill for the pleasure of it; we enjoy the** _ **pursuit**_ **, perhaps even the** _ **fight**_ **…but not the actual killing. Those we hunt always have a chance to win."**

" _Well, isn't that sweet of you…"_ Grey thought.

"So, what was Kantra doing there, anyway?" she asked.

" **Kantra is an Arbitrator. He tracks down and eliminates Bad-Bloods. It is one of the most respected duties any Yautja could undertake. He is quite a bit younger than is normal; usually Arbitrators are Elders who have become bored with the Hunt, and so turn their attention to a different sort of prey. Under normal circumstances, Kantra would be hunting Kiande Amedha and Oomans, among other things; but he is adamant that the path of the Arbitrator is his destiny."**

"Why's he so determined to take those guys out?"

" **His reasons are his own; and he alone will explain them to you, if and when he sees fit. Until then, I suggest you drop that particular subject, especially in his presence."**

"Okay then, point well made… Look, I really don't want to seem rude or anything, especially when Kantra saved me and your doctors patched me up…but is there any chance you'll be swinging by Earth soon? I have no idea how long I've been gone, and I'm sure my Sensei will be going half crazy looking for me by now." Grey said.

" **Sensei?"**

"Yeah, you know… My martial arts teacher. You know about martial arts, right? Well, he only just gave me this belt, and it means I'm the highest rank in his class, and I kind of want to get back home and start training again, so he'll know I don't plan to slack off, now that I'm at the top." she explained, showing him her belt as she had done for Kantra.

A strange look crossed the old hunter's face, but he composed himself before answering.

" **Actually, we are on our way to Earth at the moment. Many of the members of this Clan are going to be hunting Oomans for the first time, all across the planet."**

Grey then realized that "Oomans" was what they called humans, and that while she would be going home, many of their kind-the Yautja-would be hunting and killing people across the globe.

" **If it is your desire to return to your family, we will take you to where you were captured."** he said.

"I don't have any family; I live in a group home. Sensei's all I got, and if it weren't for him, I would have been out of there years ago." Grey said, a little more harshly than she'd intended, but she was very sensitive about her home situation.

" **Group home?"**

"Yeah. I'm basically an orphan, see, so they take a bunch of us and put us all in one place and call it a group home instead of an orphanage and call us underrate residents instead of wards of the state. It doesn't change our situation; but it sounds better in conversation." she explained.

" **And where are your parents?"** the Elder asked.

"Where are _your_ parents?" Grey shot back, forgetting where she was for a moment.

" **Normally,"** he began quietly, **"others answer me when I ask them a question; and do so with the proper respect. That is the kind of behavior to which I have grown accustomed to, and the kind that I prefer."**

"Yeah? Well, I'd like a pair of DD boobies, but I don't see that happening any time soon, either!" she snapped back.

From the way he suddenly became quiet, she was sure she was going to get smacked or something; this guy was obviously not used to people making smart-ass comments to him, but a moment later, he nearly doubled over on his cushion, tusks clicking rapidly in the all-too-familiar laughter of his people.

" **You certainly are a brave little creature! Such fire for such a young pup! Very well; I will ask no more questions about your family. I do wish to know one thing regarding your fight, however." he said, once he'd calmed down enough to speak.**

"What's that?" Grey asked, though she had a pretty good idea.

" **Why were you naked? Kantra showed me what his mask recorded, which I gather was the majority of your battle, and from what I saw, you were nude the entire time. Did one of the Bad-Bloods…remove your clothing?"** he asked, seeming to find it as awkward a thing to ask as she would to answer.

"No; but I'll bet you saw the big one trying to get _friendly_ … Honestly, I was tired, I was hungry, I'd had enough, and really, it just seemed like a good idea at the time." she admitted.

Another round of laughter from the Elder, who at length recovered enough for Grey to ask:

"Hey, from what you say, you've already seen a recording of that fight, right?"

He nodded.

"Then, would you and Kantra do me a favor? Delete it, please? As flat as they are, I don't want footage of my boobs floating around the galaxy for all to see, okay?"

He seemed to consider this for a moment, and then nodded again.

" **It is unfortunate, however; I doubt anyone will believe such a story without the proof. Nevertheless, I will have Kantra destroy it."** he said.

Just then, Kantra entered the room, holding what looked like a large tablet in one hand, and doing something on his wrist computer with the other.

"Speak of the devil." Grey said, looking up at him, and Elder Yeyinde turned to her, his good eye going wide.

"Just an expression, calm down." she said, and he nodded his head in understanding.

Kantra then took the tablet and wrist computer and handed them to his superior, saying something in their own language that she could not understand, and the Elder began to fiddle with the gadgets for a few minutes, before addressing Grey again.

" **Kantra has had a translator made for you, Ooman. It will make communicating with us somewhat easier during your time here."** he said, handing the wrist computer back to Kantra and the tablet to Grey, who saw to her astonishment that it was in English.

"Whoa, thanks… Seriously, this is so cool…" she said, looking at the device. It seemed to operate something like a regular tablet, complete with a touch screen, but far thinner and made of some kind of black metal. Just looking at it, she knew that it was years ahead of anything humans had created. As she looked around the various menus and options, a chiming noise came from it, and she tapped a small icon that suddenly appeared and read, in plain English:

"It also has a database of the Yautja language."

A little more investigating proved that it did indeed contain what might have been some kind of dictionary and phrasebook of the strangest language Grey had ever seen. Their language was written out in a series of differently-positioned dashes, and she didn't know if each symbol stood for a letter, like in English, or a syllable or perhaps an entire word, like with Japanese. She also wasn't sure if it was meant to be read from right to left, left to right or vertically; but truth be told, Grey had never been one to turn down a challenge.

"You may also translate Ooman into Yautja. This will help you, should you need to communicate with a Yautja who has had little experience with your kind. The information was compiled from all the existing data available on the subject. The device should link up with any one of our wrist gauntlets."

A glance to her left showed her that Kantra was busy with the wrist computer; no doubt he was the one sending her the messages.

"Thanks, this is…amazing. Oh, I was wondering," she said, tearing herself away from this marvel of technology to address the two Yautja, "how do you guys know English so well? Have you been around humans much?"

"I know fairly little, and most of that was gained from listening to radio waves and satellite transmissions from your planet. I listen to these for information on my quarry." Kantra's message stated.

"Yeah, Elder Yeyinde said you track down criminals, Bad-Bloods, right?"

He nodded in a kind of solemn way that denoted the seriousness with which he took his position.

"And what about you, Elder? Have you spent much time on Earth?" she typed, the screen responding at her lightest touch.

"I have had many, many occasions to visit your planet, and during that time, I believe I have gained a somewhat substantial grasp of the language you call English, which is, according to our information, the most common language in a majority of our regular hunting locations." the same responded, typing on his own wrist gauntlet.

A little shudder ran down Grey's spine as she thought about how many humans he'd hunted while accumulating such knowledge; but she decided that it would be better not to bring it up, since they appeared to be getting along pretty well, all things considered.

Soon, Kantra told her that it was time to return to his quarters, because the Elder had much to attend to, with the upcoming Hunt on Earth, and that he had something that he needed to discuss with her. Wondering what it could be, she bowed goodbye to Elder Yeyinde and went with Kantra back to his room, where she watched as he started several times to type something, but then decided against, finally letting out what she thought might have been a sigh, and leading her gently by the arm to sit beside him on her cushion.

"What's going on? Are you alright?" she asked.

He shook his head slightly, and then typed out:

"There is something that you need to see. This was recorded by the Bad-Bloods when they abducted you."

He then proceeded to bring up a full-color hologram of Grey's Sensei's dojo, showing the day that she had received her black belt.

"Hey! That's the final exams for karate class! Wait, they were watching this?" she said incredulously, as the mini-Grey waited while her teacher went and got her belt from another room.

"They had been observing you for several days, it seems. You must have caught their attention at some point, and they proceeded from there."

As she watched, Sensei looked as though he'd noticed something off to his left, and Grey crumpled to the dojo floor at his feet.

"That's the last thing I remember before I woke up in the jungle with the others." she said quietly.

Then one of the Bad-Bloods uncloaked, appearing out of thin air, and advancing on the two of them. Sensei stepped in front of her unconscious body, and then unleashed a furious barrage of kicks and punches that drove the Yautja back a few feet. For a moment, Grey was in awe of her teacher's bravery, but then…

"Oh, my God…" she whispered in horror, as a set of Wristblades pierced the man's stomach, dying his immaculately-kept white uniform almost black with his blood, as the largest of the hunters materialized behind him, and tossed him across the room like a rag doll, where he hit the wall and lay, motionless and bleeding, on the floor. Kantra ended the hologram's playback after that, and then looked at her with what she guessed was sympathy.

"No… No, no, no… This can't be right… He wouldn't have gone down that easy!" she said, the tears beginning to flow down her cheeks, a few landing on the tablet in front of her. As she went to wipe them off, Kantra took the opportunity to tell her:

"Your teacher fought with courage and honor; but his opponents did not."

"But… But, maybe he survived? Sometimes people can survive serious injuries, you know? Maybe someone found him in time…" she reasoned, her expression hopeful.

But Kantra gave her a meaningful look, and shook his head slowly.

"If they hadn't knocked me out, I could have helped him!"

"They still would have taken you and killed him, or killed the both of you, had you put up enough of a struggle. Your teacher gave his life trying to protect you."

"Yeah… It's my fault…" she muttered, and Kantra shook his head again, more vigorously than before.

"There was nothing you could have done. In all honesty, his skill was very impressive, even to me. And I will remind you, Grey, that you avenged him, not too long ago. I am certain that he can rest peacefully, now that one of his own students has given him justice."

His words didn't really give her much comfort; but she nodded anyway. It felt like the whole world had suddenly stopped, and she was trying to make sense of what she'd just seen. How could he be dead? He'd been the only one, the _only_ one, who had ever seemed to really give a shit about her, and now he was gone, and she was truly alone.

Kantra seemed to think that she could use some time alone, too, because he quietly got up and, casting another sympathetic glance over her shoulder, left the room.

Some people might have thought that it was insensitive of him to have left her like this, but in actuality, she got the impression that he had read her mind, because solitude was the only thing she wanted right now.

Curling up on the cushion, she buried her face in it and cried, like she had not done in years, until she began struggling for breath, and finally had to go to the bathroom and vomit several times before she could take a full breath again. Rinsing the foul taste out of her mouth at the sink, then grabbing a few pieces of the toilet paper from the stack, she went back to the cushion, lay down, and reverted back to the fetal position, and continued to cry until she fell asleep. Even in her dreams, she could still feel the intense aching in her chest, and the overwhelming sense of loss.

She didn't know how much later it was, but she was awoken by Kantra's gentle shaking, and looked up at the Yautja through swollen red eyes, sighed, and sat up, brushing away a couple of the now-dry and stiff tissues.

He had brought her some food; more meat and fruit, and something that looked like a large eggplant, except that it was dark green in color, and had a sort of buttery, spicy flavor that she would normally have enjoyed, but now could barely taste, along with the rest of it. Even though she was in emotional agony at the moment, her stomach would not let her turn down the food, especially since she'd thrown up the previous meal earlier.

"Thanks, Kantra, really." she said quietly, biting into a piece of meat, chewing for awhile, then speaking again.

"It was his, you know; this belt." she said, after she'd sat for a few minutes, the tears rolling silently down her cheeks to moisten the front of her improvised dress.

Kantra cocked his head slightly, and she went on, mostly because if she didn't talk, she was afraid she'd start screaming or something.

"It was the first one he ever earned, and he told me he'd been saving it for me…when I was ready. He told me that's why he'd started the dojo in the first place; to train people like me… He told me a long time ago that people like us-him and me-we were born in the wrong century. We would have been fine a few hundred years ago; but we just couldn't seem to fit in these days. Back then, they would have called us warriors; now, we're just called freaks…or delinquents. So now we walk the world, with our warrior spirit, feeling out of place, but not being able to change; not ourselves, or the world. There's no place for us, and now, with him gone, there's no place for me." she said, finishing in a whisper, because the lump in the back of her throat made it too painful to talk. She felt like it was selfish to think about herself now, but she couldn't deny the overwhelming feeling of loneliness and despair that had come over her, suffocating her like a pillow over her face.

" **There could be."**

The other voice made her jump, and she turned to see the Yautja typing quickly, and picked up the tablet to read what she figured would be his explanation.

"If you feel as you say, and you do not wish to return to your life on Earth, there could be a place for you here, with us."

"Thanks, but I don't think your Elder would be too happy about that." she said, forcing a smile and wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I have talked with him, and he has agreed to allow you to join us, should you prove worthy. It is not unheard of for Oomans to be accepted into certain clans; though it has been awhile since the last time one did. I will not say that your presence would not meet with some opposition or bigotry; but once you have proven yourself, nothing can be said against you."

"I… I don't know…" Grey said, looking down at the green eggplant on the tray. While it was true that she would have gone almost anywhere rather than back to the shabby group home and the jerks she had to live and go to school with, outer space just didn't register as an alternative in her mind.

"You could go on Hunts. You could fight, and put the skills and wisdom that your teacher imparted to good use. The warrior's spirit you spoke of is prized here, not condemned. You could see things that no Ooman on your planet could even imagine. It will be difficult, bloody, and dangerous; but you could gain honor, and respect. You could hone your skills, and learn so many more, if you were to accept this offer."

Grey would have liked to have told him that he was starting to sound like some kind of salesman; but she really wasn't in the mood for jokes or sarcasm at the moment. All she wanted to do right now was curl back up on the cushion and cry some more, and then sleep, and hope that she might wake up back home with this whole thing being a spicy-food dream. She could then go to the dojo and tell Sensei about it, and they'd laugh at the whole thing…

If this were a dream…

But it wasn't. Sensei was gone, Grey was a million miles or more from home, surrounded by aliens, and alone.

"Perhaps you need some time to think it over. I have to see to some Young Bloods' training; let me know when you reach a decision. We should reach Earth in a few hours. If you do decide to return to your own people, we will take you back and leave when the Hunt is over, as we usually do. The decision is entirely up to you."

This being said, he put the tray on the table for her, and left again, dimming the lights via a panel beside the door, and leaving her to curl up under the pelt in the warm, comforting darkness, staring at nothing, until she again fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own AVP, just my characters and my original story.**

 **Chapter 5**

As Kantra watched the Young Bloods, whom he had divided into pairs, wrestling with each other in the ship's _kehrite_ **(1)** , he began to reflect on his conversation with Grey.

" _Perhaps I came off a bit too overeager…"_ he thought, as the nearest pair of Yautja began to fight in earnest, momentarily distracting him.

As the Young Blood who had started the fight sailed over the heads of his stunned fellows, the Arbitrator's mind again turned to attention to the Ooman, who was undoubtedly still curled up and crying in his quarters.

" _You should have given her some time to collect herself, before you began trying to get her join us." Elder Yeyinde had said, as he sat at a table in his quarters, dozens of small tiles depicting different beasts, landscapes, ships and weapons laid out before him on a large grid board._

 _Kantra had gone back to the Elder's quarters when he had left Grey alone; unsure of what he should do, now that she had seen the demise of her teacher for herself._

" _Should I go and see to her?" he had asked, though he was unsure of how to provide the kind of comfort that was common for Oomans who had just lost someone close._

 _For Yautja, there was usually a small ceremony after a death; though the actual ritual varied, depending upon how the individual had died in the first place. The body, if there was any part of it left, would be buried, preferably on the Homeworld, in the graveyard of either the maternal or paternal Clan. If they had died honorably, there would be prayers raised for Paya's favor; if it was a dishonorable death, then the prayers would be for Paya's mercy, or perhaps divine justice on behalf of those whom the deceased had wronged. After this, there would be a period in which the deceased's name was not spoken, in order to let his or her spirit go on to the afterlife without becoming too embroiled in the affairs of the living. Once this time had passed, the Yautja's friends and family could freely reminisce, and the deceased's property could then be attended to. There were usually no large funerals, save in the case of an Adjudicator or someone incredibly well-liked and respected, as there were with Oomans. Death was an occupational hazard for those who chose the path of the Hunt, and had they given such a ceremony to every hunter, they would be constantly attending and preparing for funerals._

" _Let her grieve. She has been through much, and this blow, I do not doubt, was especially devastating." the older male had said, moving a tile depicting a Kiande Amedha Queen to rest in between one depicting a volcano and a spear._

" _Interesting combination…" he had muttered, studying the configuration he had just made and tapping one clawed finger on the tile in thought._

" _Maybe I should not have shown her that recording… Maybe seeing that was not the best way to tell her of her teacher's demise."_

" _We are not known as the gentlest people; but I believe that a bit of tact and a proper sense of timing should be on every hunter's list of attributes. You would be surprised how often these skills come into play in life. A warrior needs strength and brains to be great. Either way, it is best that she knows now, rather than finding out when she returns to Earth."_

 _For awhile, there was no sound in the room, other than the occasional clicking of the Elder's tiles, as Kantra thought over what he had just been told. It was then that another disturbing thought came into his mind, as they so often did._

" _Do you think…that she will try to take her own life? She seemed quite attached to her teacher…" Kantra had asked, after a few minutes' thought._

" _I do not believe so. She will mourn, you can be assured of that, and for quite some time; but I think she will be able to move on, in her own time."_

" _Perhaps you are right, Elder… But I did not get the impression that she has anyone in whom to confide on her own planet. Is it wise to leave her there, in such a state?"_

" _You would have us keep her here, against her will? I do not think that would help the situation."_

" _The Elder did say that, if she had no one…"_

" _And she_ _ **wished to remain here**_ _, that she could. I remember well what I said; I am not yet that old. From your words, one might come to think that you were pleased about this turn of events." the other Yautja had said, looking at his visitor with slight disapproval._

" _Then they would be wrong. They would be very wrong." Kantra had said, with a slight growl at the implication._

" _Firstly, mind your tone, Kantra; Arbitrator or no, I still outrank you aboard this ship, and will remind you of it, if I must." the Elder said, again looking at his tiles, his tone as soft and dark as the vastness just outside the ship. There was a reason this Yautja had remained leader of the Blood Moon clan for all these years, and Kantra knew that a fight between them could only go one way; and it wasn't his._

" _Forgive me, Elder." the younger male said, and his superior continued._

" _And then I suggest giving the pup some time to sort herself out before pushing your rather hastily-planned idea upon her like a mother trying to convince an obstinate suckling to try some new food. Bother her too much, and she will go back to the Oomans just to get away from_ _ **you**_ _." he said, and as he did so, took a tile depicting the figure of an Ooman off the board and put into the discard pile._

Now, Kantra continued to watch the wrestling matches going on around him; the Young Blood whom he had "disciplined" before sitting against the wall, holding a hand to his bruised head and looking somewhat dazed after his experience.

" _Ki'cte_ **(2)**! I am tired of looking at the lot of you for today! Get out of here, and pray that you do not disappoint me again tomorrow, or the Hard Meats will not have a chance to kill you!" he growled, even though his students were showing signs of improvement since he had agreed to teach them. Still, it was all too common for a little praise to turn a promising young male lazy and sloppy, and that would, sooner or later, turn him into a corpse.

As the Young Bloods began to exit the _kehrite_ , one of them, no doubt badgered by the others, stepped forward and addressed his teacher.

"Arbitrator, we have heard that you brought an Ooman with you, from your latest endeavor to rid the world of the Bad-Bloods…" he began, his peers stopping just short of the exit to the room, pretending to do anything but listen to the conversation taking place on the other side.

"That is true. What of it?" Kantra said, staring hard at the younger male, who kept his eyes to the floor as he continued.

"We, that is, all of us, were wondering if we might… If we might…have a look her… We have never seen one before…" he said, trying to sound casual.

"And if you manage not to raise my ire further, and to survive your Kiande Amedha Chiva, then you will have plenty of opportunities to see Oomans, won't you?" the Arbitrator snapped.

"Please, Arbitrator; we heard that she is only a pup, and that she defeated a Bad-Blood by herself!" another male called, and the others began backing a little away from him, in case Kantra came over to punish him for speaking out of turn.

"Aye, she is and she did; which does not give me very high expectations for any of you! In any case, she is not something to be gawked at; especially when you have so much work to do on your holds and blocking! Now go!" he finished, with a small roar to illustrate his point, and they all hurried away, clambering to be the first one out the door.

" _That could be problematic."_ he thought, leaving the room himself and seeing the last of his students turning the corner in the other direction, heading back to their shared quarters, probably to discuss at length their theories about Grey and her battle.

Young Bloods were notoriously persistent; and foolish. That was why he wasn't at all surprised to find a small group of them hanging around in the corridor outside his private quarters, pretending to be interested in the carvings along the walls or acting unconvincingly lost. Another roar sent them scurrying away, and he entered the room, grateful, as always, for the quiet and solitude it offered from the goings-on of the world beyond the door.

Solitude?

Looking around quickly, he didn't see Grey on her cushion; only the large pelt that he'd given her to use as a blanket, and she was not on his bed, nor was she in the washroom.

Kantra began to wonder where she could have gone; surely she wouldn't have decided to wander around? She had seemed somewhat distressed by the other Yautja they had passed when she had first arrived; he didn't think that she would want to walk around in the corridors, where she might run into any of them. He didn't think that they would do anything inappropriate, of course; but given her previous experience, she did not know that. Then again, perhaps she had gone out, to walk around and think about her teacher. He knew that when he needed to think, he wanted to be moving around: practicing with weapons, wrestling, doing laps around the _kehrite_ , or, whenever possible, going on a Hunt; maybe she was the same way?

While he was contemplating this, a small groan got his attention, and he looked over to the cushion in the corner, and saw the pelt on top move, ever so slightly.

Pulling up one corner, he saw that she was, to his immense relief, still curled up underneath, her eyes and nose red and swollen, and her face wet from crying in her sleep.

" _Let her grieve."_ Elder Yeyinde's voice reminded him, and he covered her up again, and went to sit on his own bed.

He had brought shame upon himself with his selfishness. He had thought only of his plans, his grand idea, and ignored the fact that the death of her teacher was probably causing Grey more suffering than any Bad-Blood ever could…maybe.

She had told him that she had nothing to go home to, since her Sensei had died, and at the time, he had taken that to mean that there was nothing standing between her and joining his people. Now that he had some tome to think, however, he began to realize that she had _nothing_ to go back to; no true home, no family, and a future that was, at best, uncertain, from what she had indicated. What would happen to her, should she decide to go back to her people?

Maybe, he thought, it would have been better if she had died on the Bad-Bloods' hunting planet; at least then, she would be spared this pain, and all the pain that was to come…

"She is stronger than that." he said out loud, a sudden fire bursting fiercely to life inside of him.

After all, she had said it herself; _she had a warrior's spirit._

Turning to gaze at the cushion on which the Ooman lay, Kantra realized how tired he was, as well. He had not slept since before he'd embarked on his Hunt, and though Yautja could go for several days without sleep, all the recent events had begun to make his body and mind cry out for rest.

Stretching out on the bed, he removed his wrist gauntlet and laid it on a nearby low table, before rolling over and looking at the wall. While it was customary for his people to sleep nude, he didn't think that it would go over well at this time, and kept his loincloth on, which hampered his attempts at sleep for awhile, but eventually, he managed to get comfortable, and finally drifted off.

For the second time in what she assumed was as many days, Grey awoke without knowing how long she'd been asleep.

Rolling over onto her back, she stretched out on her cushion and stared at the darkness provided by her improvised blanket, and suddenly realized that it was _stifling_ , and pulled it back from her face.

The room was a little darker than it had been when she'd fallen asleep; no doubt Kantra had dimmed the lights even further. It was somewhat comforting, though, to just lie there and stare up at nothing.

" _Sensei…"_ she thought, a few tears stinging her eyes, before rolling down the sides of her face and her hair.

Again she'd went to sleep hoping she'd wake up to find that, if nothing else, at least the fact that the person whom she cared for and respected beyond anyone else was now dead would all be some jacked-up nightmare. But once again, she was devastatingly disappointed as the memory of what she'd seen in the hologram came back to her, and she knew that it was real.

All that time on the jungle planet, while she was being hunted, the thought of seeing her teacher again was what had kept her going. She didn't give a damn if she ever saw the group home again; but when she'd finally stood up to and fought the…Bad-Blood, as Kantra had called them…all she could do was think of how pleased Sensei would be if she was able to tell him the story-minus her nudity, of course-and how his teachings had helped her win the battle.

" _There's no one to be proud of me anymore…"_ she thought, more tears dampening her face and hair. God, this hurt…

A small noise made her sit up a little on her elbows, and she looked over to see the sleeping form of Kantra, flat on his back as well, atop his mountain of cushions and pelts.

" _Well, I guess those guys need sleep, too."_ she thought, her mind momentarily half-distracted from her internal agony as she watched the hunter's chest lightly rising and falling.

Sighting, she put an arm behind her head and continued to stare up at the darkened ceiling, her mind lost in thought.

" _I'll never see him again… I'll never talk to him again… I'll never train with him again…"_

The lump that had been rising in her throat made it a little hard to breathe, and she had to let out a small gasp in order to fill her lungs again.

" _Your teacher fought with courage and honor; but his opponents did not."_

That was true; but the words still weren't comforting. Honor or no, her teacher was dead; and nothing was going to change that. Then again, Kantra had been right; Sensei had gone out like a warrior, on his feet, and fighting like hell. Grey was pretty sure he hadn't wanted to die, of course; but she thought that maybe, if he had thought about how he'd like to go out, it probably wouldn't be some mundane death like falling off a ladder. He would have wanted, she mused morbidly, to go out like a samurai.

It was then that an old memory came rushing to the forefront of her mind…

 _Once, when Grey had been about eight, Sensei had told her and the other students that he was descended from a samurai. This ancestor, he had said, wasn't a high-ranking warrior, or the shogun's most trusted and elite vassal, or the firstborn son of a samurai clan; he was just the fourth-born son of a poor farming family who was "drafted" into service during a small skirmish between feudal lords in the small region of Japan where he lived. He received only the most basic training, secondhand armor and weapons, was completely illiterate, and the only action he ever saw was guarding a storehouse full of rice for about two incredibly boring and uneventful months. After the skirmish had been settled, he went back to his life of quiet obscurity as if nothing had happened, which really, it hadn't. Despite the less-than-glorious battle record of his ancestor, Sensei had taken great pride in the fact that he, despite the short duration and menial duties assigned to him, had been a samurai._

 _In their immaturity, some of the students had inquired as to why, if this ancestor's time as a warrior had been so unexciting, would his descendant be so proud? Sensei had smiled and shook his head, and said that if they were lucky, they might understand someday. The others had left, talking about what they'd have for dinner that night or what was going to be on TV, but Grey had stayed behind, and approached her teacher, who was putting away the soft blue mats that covered the dojo floor during class, and offered, as she always did, to help him clean the place up. Both of them had known that she was doing this for the twofold reasons of avoiding returning to the group home as soon as possible, and spending some quiet time with her much-adored teacher._

" _I think I know why you're so glad your ancestor was a samurai, Sensei." she had said, as they put the mats into the storage room._

" _And why's that?" he had asked, in his Japanese accent, which she'd always secretly thought made him sound like a samurai himself; she'd even pretended a few times that she was being instructed by one of the greatest warriors of all time, and how lucky she was to have the privilege of being in his presence. The other kids bowed because it was part of class etiquette; her bows were always deeper…her bows were always real. They had been since she'd first walked nervously into class when she'd been five years old, and he'd come in and began explaining to the children and some of their nervous-looking parents about the class and its rules and aims. She'd never met anyone so composed…so dignified…_

 _Well, maybe not until she was outnumbered on a jungle planet about six years later…_

 _From that moment, he'd had her absolute admiration, respect, and devotion; and somehow, he seemed to sense it._

" _Well…" she struggled to find the words to describe it, having not been as articulate at that age as she would become later in life._

" _It's because… He knew that even though he really wasn't doing anything big or exciting, that he was still a samurai. He'd probably heard about all this amazing stuff that other samurai did in the past, and he was happy to be a part of that, even if it was just guarding some rice. It wasn't what he did; it was what it meant, you know, in the grand scheme of things, right? Like he was a part of the honor and the dignity and the tradition and history. Even though no one would really know, and no one would remember his name, he'd know, and he'd remember that he'd been like them, the famous ones who came before, just for a little while, in his whole life; and that was enough for him, right?" she'd said, feeling her small face burn with embarrassment from expressing what she had considered to be some very intimate theories. For him to have said that she was wrong or silly, after pretty much pouring her heart out, would be an absolutely crushing blow._

 _But he had turned and smiled broadly at his student, before putting a hand on top of her head and fondly rustling her hair._

" _That's right, Grey-chan. He was part of it, just for awhile; he was a part of all of it." he'd replied, looking proudly at her._

 _That day had been better than her birthday and Christmas combined._

Remembering this brought a fresh flood of tears, and Grey had to stifle the urge to scream into the darkness.

Eventually, she began to calm down a little, and began to think again.

" _It wasn't what he did; it was what it meant…"_

What it had meant… it had meant that she'd lost the one person she cared for more than any other…

But what he'd taught her… That meant that she'd been able to live with dignity, honor and pride…

" _Even though no one would really know, and no one would remember his name, he'd know, and he'd remember…"_

No one would know. No one would know that Sensei had died protecting her; that he'd died protecting one of the students to whom he'd dedicated his life to teach. No one would remember all the times he'd tried, in subtle ways, to introduce them to the concepts of _bushido_ -the samurai's own honor code-that included loyalty, morality, chivalry and courage…

" _I'll know…"_ Grey thought.

" _I'll know…and I'll remember… I have to; or he'll_ really _be gone."_

But God, it _hurt_ …

" _He was part of it, just for awhile; he was a part of all of it"_

It must have been so painful… With that much damage, it would have been quick; but so painful…

" _Your teacher fought with courage and honor…"_

But he had died…

"… _with courage and honor…"_

And the Bad-Bloods had taken her anyway…

"… _you avenged him, not too long ago."_

With what he'd taught her. She hadn't used any tricks; she'd won against her opponent, fair and square, using only an old katana…

Like a samurai.

" _Just the way he would have wanted."_ she thought, with a small, tearful smile up at the ceiling.

" _I am certain that he can rest peacefully, now that one of his own students has given him justice."_

Damn right she had!

But even that didn't stop the pain in her chest, or the tears that rolled down her face, making her ears prickle uncomfortably as they passed, before joining with those already in her hair. Her nose was running, too, and she was already having that nasty, salty taste in the back of her throat that meant that she needed a tissue, and soon. She didn't want to get up, though; she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to get up from this spot again.

She didn't want to get up…

To get up…

Get up…

" _Get up!"_

 _It was early evening, and Grey had just been thrown against the wall for the fourth time that day. Sensei stood in the middle of the room, arms folded, looking at his student, without even a wrinkle in his clean white gi._

" _You agreed to these extra lessons, didn't you? You told me you could handle the real thing, remember?" he'd said, as his student picked herself up off the floor again, her nose dripping blood. A quick look over at her teacher showed that he looked momentarily alarmed, but he quickly composed himself and continued to glare impassively at her._

" _I can handle it, Sensei. I'm ready for another round." Grey had said, in Japanese, taking her place at the other side of the dojo opposite her teacher._

 _These "extra lessons" had been proposed by Sensei, once Grey had turned fifteen, and had been going on after-hours in the dojo for several months before her abduction. They were, as the older man had described them, conducted in the "old way"; which was to say, no squishy blue floor mats, no padding, no group of anxious parents watching the class from the sidelines, no referee, and every word spoken had to be in Japanese. So far, Grey had been getting the living shit kicked out her for three nights a week, every week, for six months, as well as attending school and regular classes at the dojo. She also had to get up at five-thirty in the morning, run around the block five times to improve her heart function and breathing, and then do basic kicks and punches until about seven, and then it was a quick shower before getting changed and trudging off to school. The training was grueling and, more often than not, painful…_

 _And Grey loved it._

 _Sensei had told her before they even began that her extra lessons had to remain a secret; because even though they both knew that it was simply high-level training, legally, it would probably have been considered child abuse._

 _For the first month, she had spent more time flying through the air and landing on the hardwood floor than on her feet; but after she'd gotten better at blocking and maneuvering, she'd managed to either counter or dodge a lot of her teacher's attacks, which was good, because he wasn't holding back much._

 _But through all the bruises (and a broken wrist that had been an accident) she never even considered quitting. She wanted to fight as well as he did; be as disciplined and serene as he was…and if this was what it took to achieve it…_

 _Sensei bowed, along with his student, who saw a few drops of blood fall from her nose onto the dojo floor, and the next round began._

 _It only took a few moves before it was over: Sensei rushing at her, her putting her arms up to block what she thought would be a punch, him crouching low and gracefully sweeping her legs out from under her, and then, when she had fallen flat on her back, putting one foot lightly on her chest in dominance and stopping what would have been a knockout punch an inch from her face, smirking in a satisfied way when she didn't flinch._

" _If I'd had a weapon, I could have killed you." he had said, looking down at her._

" _You wouldn't need one, Sensei." she'd said, without thinking, and her face turned red._

" _True. I think that's enough for today. You'd best get home and attend to your nose." he'd said, looking with concern at his student._

 _Though he had caused several bruises to her in the course of their training, he had never aimed any of his formidable punches, kicks or holds at her head. He had explained that, although this training was meant to be a lot more intense, and that he was fine with equality between the sexes, he did not think it right to strike any woman in the face; training or no, and so he would always stop short of any actual contact during his demonstrations. She had marveled at this nobility, and while she was walking home that night, let out a rare, quiet giggle at him calling her a woman; for it was the first time he'd ever done so._

" _Yeah, I'd better get my gi in the washing machine before Ms. Andrews sees it." she'd muttered, thinking about how her foster mother would react if she came home with blood on her clothes…again._

" _Then you'd better be off; it's getting late." he'd said, taking his foot off her and extending a hand to help her._

" _Come on, Grey-chan; get up."_

 _She had raised her hand to take his…_

" _Come on, Grey-chan; get up."_

Get up. She had to get up.

She had to keep going.

Or else it all would have been for nothing.

Taking a deep breath, Grey rose silently from the cushion, and stood in the middle of room, on the alien spaceship, wondering what to do next.

Looking around, something shiny got her attention, and she crept quietly over to the wall where Kantra's bladed weapons hung, in neat rows organized by the length of each blade. Some of them were intricately decorated with filigree or symbols, while others looked more primal, and were made out of white crystal, or something that looked like the pieces of those creatures in the corridor outside the Elder's room.

Once again, she had to let out a long, slow breath at the perfection of the craftsmanship, and reached out a hand to touch the cool blade of one of the swords. Knowing that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, she carefully took the weapons from the wall, and was immediately shocked by how light it was; whatever it was made of, it sure as hell wasn't iron or steel.

In the dim light, she caught sight of her reflection in the blade, and began to think again.

" _What the hell will I do now?"_

Without Sensei, she really didn't have any reason to stay at the group home; but she didn't have anywhere else to go. She knew her teacher hadn't liked that she was so unhappy there; but she also knew that he wouldn't have wanted her running around on the streets, either. She'd put too much time and effort into her training and school to end up working as a hooker on the corner; which, for a fifteen-year-old foster home runaway, was a very real possibility these days.

She could just stick it out at the group home until she graduated high school and turned eighteen… She'd made it twelve years there already; so what was another three? With some luck, she could get a scholarship to college, just like she'd done with high school; but what then? She was pretty sure that whether she was at the group home, the streets, or college, she wasn't going to fit in any better than before.

"… _and now, with him gone, there's no place for me."_ she had told Kantra earlier, and it was just as true now.

" **There could be."**

The Yautja's words replayed in her head, as clearly as he had said them, and her heart seemed to beat a little faster.

" _If you feel as you say, and you do not wish to return to your life on Earth, there could be a place for you here, with us."_

No; it was crazy! Leaving the group home was one thing; but the idea of actually leaving the planet…

" _You could fight, and put the skills and wisdom that your teacher imparted to good use."_

To carry on Sensei's legacy; the only one she had that made her proud… To be able to use her skills-really use them-and not be thought of as crazy…at least not for _that_ reason…

" _The warrior's spirit you spoke of is prized here, not condemned."_

That sounded so _good_ … To find others that held some of the values she'd been taught for so long to cherish… Though when she thought about it, she'd already found at least one; which was one more than she had waiting back on Earth right now.

" _I will not say that your presence would not meet with some opposition or bigotry…"_

Well, _that_ was nothing new.

"… _but once you have proven yourself, nothing can be said against you."_

But that was. It was the first time in her life that someone other than Sensei had given her any real hope for a happier future.

" _You could see things that no Ooman on your planet could even imagine."_

Something besides the group home… Something besides the shabby neighborhood and overcrowded, noisy city… Something besides that elitist high school and the whispers that followed her down the halls, and in classrooms, bathrooms and the cafeteria… Something…better.

Something better. Respect, honor, adventure; the entirety of the universe, laid out before her…

And best of all, a place to come back to when she wanted to take a break. She could relax, and talk about what she'd seen and done, and listen to others recount their own tales of the sights and dangers encountered during their own escapades across the cosmos. And they-the Yautja-seemed to understand and live by a lot of the same things that she held so dear, but that had also made her such an outcast on Earth.

There was the language barrier; but she could learn. There was the size difference; but if they really warriors, then they knew never to underestimate any opponent based on their size. There was also the fact that the Yautja hunted humans…

But there was also the fact that there wasn't a single culture on Earth that didn't have someone else's blood on its hands. When she thought about all the things that humans had done to each other throughout history, what the Yautja were doing didn't even _compare_ to some of the twisted shit humans had come up with.

As quietly as a cat, she went over to look at Kantra, and imagined living a life surrounded by his people. She didn't find their physical appearance scary, unless they happened to be holding a weapon or trying to cop a feel; though their strength to be somewhat intimidating.

" _Those mandibles might take some getting used to, though…"_ she thought, as one of Kantra's twitched a little in his sleep.

Her heart was pounding so hard that she thought she might pass out, but she just stood there, still holding the sword, and thinking. Was this really happening? Was she actually considering…

A rustling from the other side of the room got her attention, and she looked to her left to see Kantra stirring from his sleep, before sitting up and blinking a few times, looking over at her cushion, and then to her.

Even in the semi-darkened room, she could tell by the way his crimson eyes widened that he'd seen the sword in her hand, and could only imagine what must have been going on in his head at that moment; seeing a stranger standing over him while he was sleeping, with a sword in hand and staring down at him with what she knew must have been the empty expression she got when she spaced out while thinking.

She was surprised he didn't lose his shit right then and there; she would have.

"This is pretty awkward, ain't it?" she said, as he stared at her, completely silent, and pressed on nervously.

"Well… Anyway, I came to a decision."

 **Author's Note: Okay, for anyone who doesn't know by this point, I added a couple of definitions so the use of certain words in the Yautja language makes sense. I don't plan on doing this for every chapter, however; so I suggest to anyone who isn't familiar with some of the more commonly-used words to get a wordlist. There are several sites that have a list of (as far as I'm aware) all the Yautja words that have appeared in print so far.**

 **Just go to your search engine and type in "Yautja Language Wordlist" and you should be good to go. Some sites even have the Yautja alphabet symbols. I don't remember if it's fan-made or canon; but it looks pretty damn cool.**

 **I don't know if I'm allowed to "promote" a certain site; but Xenopedia is where I went to get the wordlist, and it's pretty comprehensive. They have the alphabet, too. I do wish someone would add the phonetic pronunciations; but it is what it is.**

 **Yautja - English Translations**

 **Kehrite – Dojo or training hall**

 **Ki'cte – Enough**

 **Just another disclaimer: I don't own the Yautja language, though I have made up a few words and names for use in my stories. I'm pretty sure the majority of the official words were thought up by Steve Perry, who wrote a bunch of AVP novels. They're pretty good, too.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own AVP, Aliens, or Predator. I just have my characters and original story ideas.**

 **Chapter 6**

It was the next day, and Kantra and Grey were standing on one of the Mother Ship's observation decks, looking out though an enormous window as the planet Earth came slowly closer, growing from the size of a marble, to a baseball, then a basketball, until finally it took up the entire window, and none of the blackness of space could be seen.

Grey looked down as her translator tablet chimed to let her know there was a new message.

"We should board my ship now."

"Right." she replied simply, and followed the dark-skinned Yautja down through the corridors again, this time not even glancing around as the other hunters gawked at her.

They made their way to the landing bay, where about two dozen other hunters were gathered around as many identical-looking ships. Kantra had told her before that all of them were using these small ships-called Drop Pods-to descend to the planet's surface, and would return in them once their Hunts were complete; unless they were to die, in which case the ship would auto-pilot itself back to the Mother Ship, if it wasn't destroyed by the detonation of the Yautja's self-destruct device, which she was informed, every hunter wore on his or her gauntlet whenever they went on a Hunt. This device, she had been told, was used to eliminate all traces of a Yautja or any of their technology, in the event that they were killed, failed in the Hunt, or were captured.

It didn't really sit well with her, the idea of carrying something with the destructive capacity of a small atomic bomb around on your arm; but Kantra had explained that this device was one of any hunter's most important pieces of equipment, and in fact, many Clans mandated that their members carry one any time they left their respective Mother Ship.

They watched for a few minutes as the other Yautja-who were all what Kantra referred to as "Blooded"-boarded the smaller ships, paying her fairly little attention, compared to many of the others. This, she had found out, was because Blooded hunters and higher were allowed to freely hunt humans, and had seen them many times. Most of the ones who had looked at her so intently as she'd walked around the ship were referred to as Young Bloods, and they had not yet seen a human, outside of holograms, that was.

At first, the terms _Blooded_ and _Young_ _Blood_ had confused her, but Kantra, ever patient, had told her that Yautja society was built upon a caste system. At the very top were the Adjudicators, who oversaw Yautja law and made sure that all the Clans stayed in line and made the laws that their kind followed. Only they could appoint Clan Leaders, like Elder Yeyinde. After this were the Ancients and Arbitrators. Ancients were Yautja who had earned so much honor and respect during their long lives that they had grown to be incredibly influential among their people. Arbitrators were, usually, Ancients who had decided that the Hunt had lost its excitement, and turned their attention to tracking down Bad Bloods. When Grey had asked Kantra why he was an Arbitrator, when he didn't look any older than a lot of the Blooded hunters now boarding their ships, he had said that there were special circumstances surrounding his appointment to the position, and that they were between him and the Adjudicators.

Next came the Elders, who, through their many Hunts had gained wisdom and experience that often led them to be appointed as Clan Leaders. Elders didn't go on as many Hunts as they had before they'd gained the title; but they certainly went on more than the Adjudicators, who were far too busy to even think of going off-planet.

She was also told that females-most of whom did not engage in the Hunt-were held at about the same rank as Elders, since Yautja society was far more matriarchal than any Earth culture Grey could think of. Females gave life to the next generation of hunters, controlled the vast majority of the economy, and pretty much ran the planet, where most of them stayed. When she had asked why females didn't hunt, Kantra had told her that it was because, unlike males, females did not have to prove anything to the rest of Yautja society. Their very _gender_ granted them a certain degree of social importance; and no right-thinking male would want to make a female angry, partly because of their ferocity, and partly because she was told that females tended to be larger than males.

Next came the Blooded, who were full-fledged hunters, and had the right to freely hunt humans and something Kantra had referred to as a Kiande Amedha, though of course, she didn't know what that was. Blooded could join a Clan or hunt alone, if they had their own ship. They could also, if chosen, mate with a female and father her pups. Males and females weren't monogamous; and in fact, one male could have quite a few offspring by many mates. Females were, however, notoriously picky about whose children they bore; so many males were never given the opportunity to mate throughout their entire lives, which could be quite long, according to Kantra.

After the Blooded came the Young Bloods, who had finished their basic training on the Yautja Homeworld and had chosen which Clan, if any, they wished to join. Once they were onboard the Mother Ship, they would be further trained by an instructor-usually Blooded or higher-until the time came for their first official Hunt, which, if survived, would mark their entrance into the Clan as Blooded hunters.

At the very base were the Unblooded. These Yautja were fresh from their mothers' houses and were undertaking the basic training needed to progress to Young Bloods. They were only one step above pups, and were treated as such by most of the other ranks.

Etas came next. These, as Grey had it explained to her, were the rank the servants on the ship held. They were individuals who were unable, for a variety of reasons, to go on any Hunts, or those who were too cowardly, or who were so disgraced that there was little hope of climbing back up the social ladder. They would often hire themselves out as servants in order to receive food and a place to sleep, and were effectively banished to the bowels of the ship when not working.

At the very bottom, the very lowest level, of Yautja society, were the Bad-Bloods. There was, as Kantra put it, no redemption for many of them, and it was his task to hunt them down and kill them whenever he found them. The Yautja didn't have jails or prisons; the only police force was the Arbitrators, whose decisions were absolute. They were, Grey realized, judge, jury, and all too frequently, executioner. They showed no mercy when they routed out their prey; as she had witnessed when the one standing next to her had ruthlessly cut down the other two hunters the day they had met.

Kantra had said, however, that not all Bad-Bloods were murders and criminals; some of them had committed other crimes, such as failing in the Hunt, and accepted their punishment. They were usually exiled for a period of time, usually at the discretion of their Clan Elder or an Arbitrator, and then, if they survived long enough, were allowed back into Yautja society, though they had to begin their social climb all over again, from the rank of Unblooded.

Thinking about all of this, Grey had to admit that a Yautja's life was a hard one; at least, for most of the males. How they managed to keep their sanity was anyone's guess, with all the pressure they were under, and the threat of death or exile if they put one toe out of line.

A gentle shake to the shoulder brought her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see Kantra, who nodded his head in the direction, his long plaits swinging slightly as he did so.

" **Now we depart."** he said, in his growl-y English.

She followed him back onto his ship, thinking about how scared she'd been when she'd first woken up there. Taking a seat in one of the chairs, Grey watched as Kantra sat in the pilot's seat, ran a quick systems check, and the right coordinates into the computer.

As the door closed and the ship took off, the human couldn't help but think about the decision she'd made, and wondered, for the thousandth time, if it was the right one.

 _A few hours earlier…_

Kantra blinked sleepily around the room, trying to get the tired feeling out of his crimson eyes, and looked to Grey's cushion, intending on getting up and checking on her before going to the ship's canteen and getting himself something to eat. At first, he thought she must be under the pelt again, but then realized that the pelt was lying halfway off the cushion, and she was not on it. Another look revealed no Grey, and he began to wonder where she'd gone while he was asleep.

Then he looked over and saw, not two noks away from him, the Ooman, standing completely still, with a kind of dazed look on her face, _and holding one of his swords!_

For the briefest of moments, the Arbitrator thought he was about to be attacked; then he became somewhat irritated, as he'd thought that they'd reached a kind of understanding that he wasn't going to attack her. He was also momentarily infuriated that she would try and attack him in his _sleep_ , as he'd placed no small amount of faith in the notion that she was an honorable fighter. In the short time in which he had processed all these feelings, however, she seemed to come out of her dazed state, and looked at him, and then the sword, and back at him, her own grey eyes going wide.

"This is pretty awkward, ain't it?" she said, looking down at him, as he kept his eyes fixed on her and the sword.

"Well… Anyway, I came to a decision."

That got his attention, and as he watched, she took the sword back over to its wall and placed it back in its spot, staring at the other bladed weapons as she began to speak.

"I've been doing some thinking while you were sleeping," she was saying, leaning forward to admire one of his ceremonial daggers, "and I've decided."

Kantra sat up, stretched, and watched as she looked at another one of his swords, a rather thick silver one with an intricate engraving along the blade. Despite his rude awakening, and the fact that he was supposed to be listening to her, he couldn't help but feel pleased that she seemed to admire his collection so much; he'd put a lot of time, effort and thought into selecting each and every blade, and they had all come into play during his role as an Arbitrator, at some time or other. It was good to see that someone appreciated his efforts so much; most of the females he'd bedded had been interested in his trophies, not the tools that had helped him attain them.

"I think I'm going to take you up on your offer." she said, turning to face him, her hands behind her back as she looked at him.

This washed away any residual misgivings he'd had about how he'd been greeted upon awakening, and he'd frantically grabbed his wrist gauntlet, almost knocking over the small table that it sat on in the process, and began typing out a message for her. She had already seen him, and had picked up her translator before he'd finished.

"Are you certain? Are you **absolutely** certain?"

"Yeah, I am. There's nothing for me back on Earth now, and to be honest, I think I could start to like it here." she replied.

"Your time here will not be easy. There will be much hard work in your future, should you decide to go through with this."

"Maybe. But if half of what you said is true, it'll be worth it, right?"

"Absolutely. You will never know **anything** like the feeling of freedom and pride that the Hunt can give you if you remain on your own planet."

"Okay, but I have to ask you…" she began, coming over to sit before him, her legs off to one side, on the floor.

"If I do this, if I join the Yautja, will I have to hunt humans?"

Kantra shook his head.

"Our laws state that the hunting of another of your own species is sacrilege, unless it is in the case of an Arbitrator hunting Bad-Bloods, of course."

She looked immensely relieved, and he could tell that this subject had been weighing quite heavily on her mind.

"Then I guess it's decided; I'm going to become a huntress." she said quietly.

"And a fine one, I believe."

"There's just one thing I need you to do for me first; I need to go back to Earth, just for a little while." she sprang on him.

He cocked his head, unsure of what to make of this request.

"Why?"

"There are some things I need to get…important things. I'll only need to be there long enough to get them, and then I'll come back."

"What could you possibly need that would warrant such a journey?"

"Just…stuff, okay? Look, when we were talking earlier, and you started talking about me joining your people, I noticed how eager you seemed. I can't figure out why, but you're really keen on me getting onboard with this idea, aren't you?" she asked, scooting forward a little.

"I admit, I have put some thought into the idea, yes."

"Then I'll make you a promise: if you let me get my stuff, I'm yours…metaphorically speaking, of course. You told me that your Clan's gonna be hunting on Earth soon, right? Maybe I can just hitch a ride down and back?"

"The Drop Pods we normally use are only made for one."

"But _your_ ship isn't."

"My ship?! I am an Arbitrator; not a transportation service! My ship is used to help me track the most dangerous criminals known to Yautja kind; not hauling cargo!" he typed, affronted by the very idea.

"You seemed to have no trouble hauling my skinny ass across the galaxy and back. Besides; don't you want to see where I come from? Aren't you a little curious to see what kind of life could be so crappy that I'd rather leave the damn _planet_ than stay there?" she asked.

In reality, he did want to know these things, but he was not going to let her know this. He was offended by this Ooman thinking that she could make deals with him; being invited to join a hunting Clan was an absolute privilege!

But, he had put so much thought into his idea, and had already envisioned such a grand future for this Ooman, and the Blood Moon Clan… Perhaps a brief trip to Earth wouldn't be such an inconvenience… He'd have to clear it with Elder Yeyinde first, though; and there might be another hunter intending to use the area, and it would be considered extremely bad form to intrude on another's Hunt. It would have to be explained to this other hunter that he was just coming there for some brief business, and then he would be departing, without taking any trophies.

"Do you swear that you will come back?" he typed, a little warily. He was not too enthusiastic about taking her back to Earth and letting her run around on her own; especially since she might get it into her head to run away.

" _But that makes no sense; I already offered her a chance to return to her life there, and she is saying that she wants to stay here…"_ he thought.

"On my honor." she'd said, with a wink, and held out a hand for him to shake; an Ooman custom with which even he was familiar.

"I hope you realize the gravity of what you just said." he had replied, taking her much smaller hand and shaking it carefully, so as not to accidentally dislocate her arm. It may have been just an expression among her kind; but to say this to a Yautja-especially an Arbitrator-and then break the oath…

"I do. I'm a lot of things; but I'm not a liar." she had said.

"Okay, I've been holding it together up until now; but I think I'm gonna have to go over here and cry again."

And indeed, her eyes were starting to glisten with tears again.

Now, as the ship left the landing bay, and the enormous airlock closed behind them, Grey couldn't believe that this was going to be the last time she'd be on Earth…for awhile, anyway. Kantra had told her that, even though she wasn't allowed to hunt humans-which was fine by her-she could still _go_ to earth...though he'd said he couldn't imagine why she'd want to.

He'd had to clear it with Elder Yeyinde, in case any of the Yautja from the Blood Moon Clan had staked out the city, or if one from another clan was already hunting there. She had been told, however, that ever since the Bad-Bloods had killed her Sensei-and a whole bunch of other people, while they were at it-no hunter wanted to go anywhere near the city for awhile; this was both because there would undoubtedly be an increased police or even military presence that might make things difficult, and none of them wanted to be thought of as the one who had killed so much unworthy prey. Elder Yeyinde had speculated that the Bad-Bloods did this sort of thing, not simply to satisfy an unnatural bloodlust, but to slander the name of the Yautja in general.

The absence of other hunters did work to their advantage, however, with all the time that had passed-Grey had been informed that it had been a little over a month-since the Bad-Bloods' departure, things in the city were probably starting to calm down. It was a testament to how screwed up people were, that a string of grisly murders could occur in their own city, and life would be getting back to normal a little while later.

" _They probably just thought it was the work of some serial killer or Satanic cult or something…"_ she thought, remembering that she'd heard about a period back in the late '80s where a bunch of skinned, headless, or mutilated corpses had been found all over the city, and then, the carnage just stopped. Rumors had spread that it was the work of Jamaican voodoo drug gangs or something, until the leader of one of them ended up dead, too.

She was roused from her thoughts as what looked like a meteor shower suddenly erupted all around them, and as she watched through one of the large windows of the ship, she realized that the Drop Pods must be deploying. They zoomed across the planet's atmosphere in every direction, leaving faint trails behind them, the ships taking them around the world to begin the Hunt.

Kantra's ship, however, was no simple Drop Pod. From what she could see, it looked like the ride in one of the tiny craft was anything but a luxury cruise; but this ship glided through the layers of the atmosphere like a leaf floating on still water, and just a silently, finally landing with barely any indication that they'd touched anything solid.

The door opened and the ramp descended, and as Grey got up to exit the ship, she felt the Yautja take her arm, and turned to see him putting on his Bio-Mask, which she had found out helped him breathe better the atmosphere of Earth.

"You remember our agreement, yes?" she read on the translator.

"Yeah: you let me get some stuff, and I come back with you and teach me the ways of the Yautja." she said.

"And you will accept our customs and our laws. You will abide by our Code of Honor in everything you do, throughout your entire life with us." he reminded her.

"I know. I'll do it; all the training, the Hunt, the trophies, the Honor Code…all of it."

"Then we are in agreement. I must tell you, as a point of fact, that if you are simply using this as an excuse to try something duplicitous, I have the right, by law, to hunt you like any other Bad-Blood; and you have seen what I do to them."

"Wait, what?"

"You made this bargain, remember; you swore **on your honor**. My people take such oaths **very** seriously. If such a pledge is broken, you are no better than a Bad-Blood, and are to be treated just the same."

"Well, there's not gonna be any "hunting", because I'm not going to try anything." she replied.

"Then I do not believe we will have any issues. Now, you lead me to wherever you are going, and I will follow."

"You're coming with me?" she asked, intrigued by the prospect.

"As you said before; I wish to see what kind of life could be so "crappy" that you would rather leave the planet than return to it."

"Touché. Well, come on then; we won't have a whole lot of time, but then again, we won't need it." she said, and descended the ramp, while Kantra activated his camouflage and disappeared from view, with only the faintest movement in the air to denote his presence. Once they were out of the ship, he pressed a few buttons on his wrist gauntlet, and the ship's camouflage activated as well, rendering as nearly-invisible as its owner.

"That's so cool. Will I get something like that?" Grey asked, looking at the spot where a large alien craft had just been.

"In time. They are standard issue; but do have their weaknesses. Water will render them useless for a time; our own technology can sense them with no problems, and there are **certain creatures** on whom they have no effect."

The girl wanted to ask what kind of creatures could see through something like that, but she knew that she was probably going to find out eventually. For now, she had stuff to do.

As they made their way through the small field in which they had landed, Grey looked beyond the overgrown grass to the neighborhood beyond; the place that, until a month ago, had been her home.

Rosie Grove had once been a pretty nice neighborhood, Grey had been told; it had been intended as a sort of "suburb within a city", where people who didn't want to drive all the way into L.A. from the _real_ suburbs could feel like they lived in one. The whole place was laid out in a big square, about five blocks in every direction, with all the houses and all the yards the same; that whole shtick. Unfortunately, the whole idea didn't garner much interest from the upper-middle-class set, and so the whole thing was sold for less than a quarter of its original value and was now just another rundown neighborhood in the middle of the city. It wasn't a rough place; just a shabby one. The place never had any problems with gangs, because there really wasn't anything to fight over; almost everyone who lived here was over 50, and the only drugs they were taking were heart pills and blood thinners. No drugs meant a lot less violence, and even though there were a lot of different races living there-black, Latino, Italian, white, Asian-there was never sort of tension or anything. That was the one thing that Grey liked about the place; nothing went on. The only "violence" that ever happened might be a knocked-over trashcan or defaced lawn gnome.

This neighborhood was the kind of place where older people who couldn't afford to move down to Florida lived. There were no sirens going off at two in the morning, no helicopters flying overhead, no police cars zooming through the residential streets chasing carjackers. It was the kind of place where elderly women, still clad in their floral house dresses, would sit on their front porches in faded plastic patio chairs, fanning themselves or swatting at flies with yesterday's newspaper, and talking loudly to each other across the street, sometimes in English, sometimes not. It was too bad that Grey was about as welcome here as the flies; because if not for that, she could have really loved the place.

The field they had landed in had been intended to be a children's playground, back when the place was first built; but when none of the people in the intended demographic showed any interest, the whole place was left to grow over. This was good for Grey and Kantra, because no one, other than the occasional fat brown snake, ever showed any interest in poking around.

They had landed in the middle of the night, naturally. And since most of the people on Grey's block were heavy sleepers, they didn't have to worry about creeping around so much. During the day, the eyes of every old lady on the block would be scanning in every direction, looking for a new source of gossip.

Luckily, the field they'd landed in was right behind Grey's group home, so they didn't have to trudge through the streets to get there and, after a few minutes, in which the human swore a lot because of all the rocks-and one unfortunate slug-that she stepped on, they were looking up at the back of the house that Grey had called home for thirteen years.

"How will you enter this house?" she read, as Kantra looked up at the two-story dwelling.

"Gotta climb up this tree." the girl said simply, looking up at the enormous old willow that was growing at the back of the house.

"I've been doing this for years; we all have." she said, seeing the way he cocked his head at her. It was true, though; pretty much every resident of Rosa Gonzalez' group home used this tree as a means to liberate themselves from the house without using the front door, and she was no exception. It was kind of a "you don't tell on me, I don't tell on you", unspoken agreement that they all had with one another.

"Will anyone know that you are infiltrating the place?"

"You told me this is Saturday night, right?" she asked, and he checked his wrist gauntlet to confirm, and nodded.

"Well, this late on a Saturday, the other girls will be out doing God-knows-what, and Ms. Gonzalez will be in bed because she's got Mass tomorrow morning at six. She thinks all the girls will already be in bed asleep, so as long as I stay quiet, I shouldn't have any trouble."

"What shall I do in the meantime?"

"Just stay here, and stay quiet until I get back." she replied, and handed him the tablet, then began to climb up the tree. Even after a month away, and in the dark, she still knew every branch, every knothole, and every foothold on the old willow tree, and silently thanked it for all the years it had borne her and the other girls as they left the house for their nighttime escapades.

Finally, she reached the window and, praying that Ms. Gonzalez had still neglected to fix the busted lock, lifted gently on the bottom, thanking the powers that be that it came up, as always, without a sound.

The room she'd climbed into was not hers; that was one door over, but they all looked the same, more or less. There were two rooms in each of the three rooms, one room for Ms. Gonzalez, and one room for her daughter. Aside from the different posters and pictures on the walls, all the beds and furnishings were the same.

Luck was still on her side, as both this room and the one she shared with another girl, Tisha, were empty; indicating that they had all, indeed, gone out that night, as they did most every weekend.

Being careful to avoid the well-known squeaky floorboards in the narrow hallway, Grey made her way from her entry point to her own room, and hoped beyond hope that her belongings hadn't been thrown away or donated to Ms. Gonzalez' church.

"Yes!" she whispered, as she saw the large trunk at the foot of her bed, and fist-pumped in triumph when she went to the closet to find her clothes still hanging there.

As quickly and quietly as she could, Grey removed her improvised attire and put on her usual outfit of a t-shirt and too-big jeans, thinking to herself how good it felt to wear underwear again, and a pair socks and her favorite combat boots, which she'd bought for $5 at a thrift store two summers previously.

Going to her bed, she pulled out from under it an enormous duffel bag-also from the thrift store-that she'd used when Sensei had taken her and a couple of other students to a competition in San Francisco the previous year, and put all of her clothes inside of it, which took up less than half the space. She then went to her trunk and began adding its contents: the cloth she'd been using as a dress, several books, her spare _gi_ , all of her old karate belts, including an extra brown one, every birthday and Christmas card she'd ever gotten-mostly from Sensei-and a small photo album, which happened to be one of the most precious things she owned. She also packed the small wooden rosary that Ms. Gonzalez had given her when she was younger. Even though she wasn't religious… _at all_ …she still thought it was really nice of her, and Grey hadn't received a lot of presents in her life. There were quite a few more books there too, but they all belonged to the library or the school, so it wouldn't have been right for her to take them. Instead, she quietly shut the trunk, and walked out the door to this room for what she knew would be the last time.

Now that she was wearing the boots, she had to be extremely careful not to make any noise as she proceeded downstairs and to the front door, when something caught her eye.

Ms. Gonzalez was a very strict woman; but kind, and Grey thought that if she hadn't always been so tired from working double shifts in the kitchen at one of the hotels in the area, she could have been a really attentive foster mother to the girls in her care. She was also a very devout Catholic, and it was her small altar, placed unapologetically in the living room, that got the girl's attention.

As she approached, she saw the familiar Virgin Mary statue, the prayer cards, pictures of saints, and the candles; but she also saw, to her amazement, a 4x6 picture of…her. It was her most recent school picture, set up on the altar right beside the small silver crucifix.

Reaching out, she took the picture and looked at it, and then turning it over, saw that there was something written on it, but she couldn't make it out in the darkness. Knowing that she was probably pushing her luck, she struck one of the matches kept near the altar for the candles, and lit a couple of them.

"Mother Mary, bring her safely back to this house. Amen."

"She… _prayed_ for me…" Grey whispered, looking incredulously at the words on the picture, written in Spanish, in her caregiver's no-nonsense handwriting, and feeling her throat tighten a little.

"I should at least leave her a note or something…" she thought, and looked around until she found one of the notebooks the older woman had lying everywhere to aid with her aging memory, and a pen, and began to write by the glow of the altar candles.

 _Dear Ms. Gonzalez,_

 _I just wanted you to know that this is the last time you will hear from me. I thought I should let you know that I am alive, and am doing pretty good, all things considered, but I couldn't go off and do what I'm about to do without at least saying goodbye to you, after you raised me and everything. I know I wasn't the easiest kid to bring up; but you did, and you brought me up right. I can't tell you where I'm going, and you wouldn't believe me even if I did. Just know that I'm safe, more or less, and that I've finally found a place where I might be able to be happy. \_

 _I know that you know I'm not the most religious type; but pray for me, okay? I know you have been lately. And pray for Sensei, too; even though I know he's in a better place. Now I have to go, but please don't worry about me; you have your hands full with the other girls. Don't let them drive you crazy, okay?_

 _-Grey._

 _P.S._

 _I've been saving my money for a long time, but I'm not going to need it where I'm going, so would you do me a solid, and put it in the donation box at church? Also, there are some books in my trunk upstairs that belong to the library and my school, and I'd like to ask that you make sure that they get back to their respective owners._

 _P.S.S._

 _Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm not going into prostitution, joining a gang, going on a crime spree, joining a cult, or committing suicide. I'm just going…away._

Grey looked at the letter one final time, before placing it n the older woman's large-print Bible, which she had laid out, along with her rosary, to take to Mass the next day. Reaching into one of the pockets of the duffel, she removed a wad of bills-about $200 that she'd been saving, though she didn't know for what-straightened them out, and put them on top of the note between the pages of the Bible. She knew that Ms. Gonzalez would use it as she'd asked, and that she was the only one who ever went near the book in the first place.

Blowing out the candles, she took one last look around the living room, sighed, and carefully unlocked and opened the front door, being sure to lock it back before closing it.

As she walked around the edge of the house, she came upon the most bizarre sight she'd yet to see.

Kantra was sitting cross-legged on the back deck, while the neighbor's enormous yellow tomcat, Jerry, stood in his lap, one huge front paw on the Yautja's chest, while the other tapped curiously on his mask.

"Made a friend, huh?" she asked, coming over to sit beside the pair. The cat abandoned his pestering of the Arbitrator and went over to investigate Grey, who scratched his coconut-sized head fondly, picking up the translator with the other.

"This creature will not let me alone."

"Let me guess; you made the mistake of petting him, right?"

"There was nothing else to do."

"Well, we've got something to do now. One last stop and we can go back to the Mother Ship." the human said, and stood up, earning a reproachful meow from the cat, who took off after a low-flying mosquito, chasing it off into the night. Grey took a cue from him, hoisted her duffel over her shoulder, and began to walk.

" **Where now?"** Kantra asked in English, standing up and brushing a few long orange hairs from his front.

"To the dojo. There are a few things I have to get from there. Follow me, but keep an eye out; there's a big-ass hill of–" she began, but was cut off when an enormous roar split the silence of the night, echoing like thunder down the dimly-lit street. This was immediately followed by three blue plasma bolts to the ground, which left a crater almost the size of a dining room table in the brown-green grass.

"Fire ants." she finished flatly, and watched with a pounding heart as the lights in several of the neighboring houses went on.

Kantra, meanwhile, was squatting in place, fully visible, and was trying madly to get the large red ants to let go of his bare feet. She'd noticed pretty early on that most Yautja didn't seem to wear any sort of footwear, and she was glad she had a pair on now.

"Fuck!" she hissed, and quickly flattened herself against the side of the house, and Kantra disappeared, as several indistinct heads poked out of the windows and looked up and down the streets for the source of the noise.

"What the hell was _that_?" one man called, to no one in particular.

"Sounded like thunder or something." a women's voice replied, from further down the street.

"Thunder hell! That was a lion! I heard 'em roarin' like that when I took my grandkids to the zoo once!" another man yelled.

"A lion? How's a lion gonna get into the neighborhood, you old fool?" the first man questioned.

"It wasn't a lion; it was thunder, I tell you!" the old woman reiterated.

"It hasn't rained in three weeks, _estupida_!" another female voice answered.

"Probably those damn kids and their motorcycles again!" another woman suggested.

"We might as well try to go now; they'll be like this for the next hour, at least." Grey said quietly, as she inched around the side of the house, trying to make herself as small as possible so as not to be seen by the still-arguing neighbors.

Although Kantra, who was limping a little from his encounter with the fire ants, could probably have walked out into the middle of the street without being seen, Grey had to be careful to stay in the shadows as the pair picked their way down the block in the direction of the dojo.

Sensei's dojo was at not too far from the group home; only about six or seven blocks, which put the place right on the edge of where the neighborhood merged with the city. It took them nearly an hour to creep along in the darkness; but at last, they stood before the two-story brick building.

For a couple of minutes, Grey just stood and stared at the place, taking in sight and remembering all the things she'd done and learned in this place. She couldn't believe that she'd been taken from here, one month ago, and that her master had died here as well. There were still some remnants of the yellow crime scene tape; tattered ribbons of various lengths blown around by the light wind…an eerie reminder of what had taken place within. At last, she forced herself back to the present, and prepared for what she was about to do.

" **No trees."** Kantra informed her, using English again, as Grey had handed him the translator and her duffel.

"Don't need one; there should be… There it is!" she said, fishing around in a large crack in the front stoop for the dojo's spare key. People might have thought to look under the mat, under a rock or on top of the doorframe, but they never checked this hiding spot.

" _Domo arigato_ , Sensei." she whispered, putting the key in the lock and turning, and finding that no one had changed the locks yet.

"You can come with me this time." she said quietly, looking at the still-cloaked Yautja-or rather, the spot where she knew him to be-and went inside, with him following.

If the memories had been strong outside, they were almost overwhelming once they got inside the building. As they went through the small entrance hall, where the cubbies for shoes were lined up against the wall, they entered the largest area, where the classes were held.

The place looked the same as it always had; the smooth hardwood floors, the calligraphy and posters showing stances and moves on the walls, and Sensei's kneeling cushion at the front of the room, where he would sit and watch as his students demonstrated. The only thing that was different was the thing that made Grey's heart both sink and jump into her throat at the same time; a large, dark stain over by one wall, which no amount of effort by the crime scene cleanup crew had been able to remove.

"He died right here…" she said quietly, walking slowly over to stare down at the discolored floor.

She probably would have stood there all night; but Kantra put a hand on her shoulder, bringing her back, and she decided that she could save the crying-and there would be plenty of it-for later.

"He taught me everything here; from day one. I was five when I started." she told the Arbitrator, not having to whisper here, because all the other places around were businesses whose owners went home at night. Sensei, however, had his house on the second story, right above the dojo.

" _It's almost like he could be asleep up there now…"_ she thought, listening to the sounds of distant traffic. It was a nice fantasy; but that's all it was, and she knew it.

"I have to go upstairs." she managed to say, and found the staircase behind a large folding screen, and began to climb, followed still by Kantra.

It seemed to take hours to get to the second story, but when she did, she saw that her teacher had done everything he could to make this obviously American building as close to the traditional Japanese home in which he'd told her he'd grown up. From the cushions on the floor in the front room, to the bamboo rice steamer in the kitchen, to the low table in the dining room, this place had "Sensei" written all over it. Though she'd never been up here before, she'd wondered a few times what kind of place her teacher inhabited; and this was almost exactly what she'd imagined. Except for a few modern things, such as the fridge and a space heater, it was almost as though the pair of them had gone back in time.

Letting out a slow breath, she followed the hallway, which had two doors, one which turned out to be a bathroom, and one that was the room she'd been looking for-the bedroom.

Or, more specifically, the enormous cabinet in one corner _of_ the bedroom. Turning on the light, which was fine, because this room had no windows, she saw that one of her older theories had been correct; her teacher had slept on a traditional Japanese futon, and it was folded neatly and sat in one corner of the room. When she'd first heard of this custom, at the age of eight, she'd asked Ms. Gonzalez if she could do something similar, but her caregiver had replied that she'd given up sleeping on the floor in her twenties, when she'd left one of the poorest parts of Mexico to come to California and become a social worker, and was not going to have her charges doing it when there were perfectly good beds to sleep in.

With trembling hands, Grey reached out and opened the cabinet's double doors, revealing what she'd come all this way for.

Swords, several beautiful replicas of different kinds of katana, were arranged carefully within the cabinet. There were also a couple of _wakizashi_ and _tanto_ replicas; but at the bottom was the main thing she'd come for.

This katana was not new, by any means. Its sheath was chipped in places, and the grip on the hilt was coming undone. The blade itself was dull with age, and had signs of obvious wear. It was quite unimpressive, when compared to the beautifully-crafted replicas with which it shared the cabinet.

But this katana was the only real one among the bunch.

He had saved for it, he'd told her, for over a year. It had cost him $2500; but he'd finally been able to afford it. He had showed it to her-just to her-one day after class. She'd noticed that he'd been eager to end the day's lesson, which was not like him, but when he'd asked her to stay behind and help him put the mats away, she'd known it was something important. He had hurried upstairs and come back down in less than a minute, carrying this blade, wrapped in a piece of silk cloth, and had unwrapped it for her to see.

She'd known from the minute he'd revealed it to her that it was the real deal; he'd never been this excited about the replicas, which he'd mentioned offhand in class a couple of times. She couldn't believe that he'd managed to find one, and that he'd made a special priority of showing it to her…just to her.

When she'd said that it looked old, he'd said that it had been used in the time of his samurai ancestor, and when she'd asked, barely able to contain her awe, if it had been his, he had smiled and shook his head, and explained that the sword used back then didn't belong to the ancestor, and had to be returned when his role as a samurai was finished. This sword, though, was from the same period, and was probably much like the one his ancestor had carried, though never used.

She was also shocked when he'd let her _hold_ it, and had even shown her the proper stance for wielding such a weapon, though just for a minute or two. In that moment, Grey understood how he felt about his ancestor; even though she wasn't a warrior, for a moment, she'd held a sword that a warrior might have held, and used in battle, so many years ago.

" **Stealing?"** Kantra inquired, making her jump and turn around to face him.

"No, I sure as hell am not _stealing_!" she snapped, her temper flaring at the insinuation.

" **Then why?"**

"Because… Because I can't leave them here. I don't know if he would have wanted me to have them; but I do know that he wouldn't have wanted them to end up in some pawn shop or something. I can't let that happen." she said, and he seemed to understand, at least in part, what she was trying to say.

Carefully, she reached out took the real katana, and wrapped it carefully in several of the pieces of brown cloth that had previously been her dress, before putting the bundle in her duffel, then began adding the replicas.

" **Fake."** Kantra said, sounding dismissive.

"They're not _fake_ ; they're _replicas_. There's a difference." she said, gently rearranging things so that everything would fit.

" **Why?"** he asked again.

"I'm bringing them because…he touched them…he held them. I'm bringing them because he took so much pride in them; they reminded him of the sort of life that he would have wanted to lead, but he was just born too late. It's hard to explain." she said.

Grey wasn't sure if he understood what she was trying to say, but he let her finish packing the replicas uninterrupted.

"Okay, that's it. I've done everything I came back to do. I guess it's time to go." she said, standing up and trying to hoist the duffel over one shoulder, but finding that the new additions made it quite heavy. Kantra seemed to take pity on her and took it from her, the weight not appearing to bother him at all.

"Thanks." she said softly, and turned out the bedroom light, and the two proceeded out of the room.

Then, for the second time that night, a picture got her attention.

It was hanging in the living room, above a print of a very famous Japanese painting of large waves.

"This is the day of the citywide karate championships a couple of months ago!" she exclaimed, rushing over and taking the picture carefully off its hook.

The photo showed her, better-nourished and without the scar on her nose, and Sensei, standing side-by-side, as Grey held up her second-place plaque. Though her nose was bloody, her eye blackened, and her lip swollen, she couldn't have looked happier, and her teacher, dressed in his formal black kimono with the dojo's symbol on the back, was smiling as well.

"I got my ass handed to me in the final round; but I damn sure gave as good as I got. I took second place, no problem. He was…so proud…" she said, showing the picture to Kantra, who had come over to see what had distracted her.

She couldn't hold it in anymore, and had to lean back against the wall to keep from falling to the floor as the waves of sorrow hit her again, one after the other, and the tears fell on her t-shirt, while she struggled to take a full breath.

Kantra just watched her, obviously not knowing what to do, and fidgeting with the strap on the duffel until Grey was able to collect herself enough to stand upright again.

"Sorry about that… I… I ought to let you know, though; that's gonna happen a lot for awhile. Okay… I think I'm good…for now… Let's just get back to your ship, okay? she said, and Kantra seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

Grey put the picture in the duffel with everything else, and they proceeded downstairs and back into the entrance hall, where she saw a small memorial wreath that she hadn't noticed when they'd first entered the building.

"Sensei Tetsuo Yamada. Beloved teacher." she read, finding it strange to see his name in print.

" _Damn right you were."_ she thought, reading the words _beloved teacher_ again.

"Goodbye, Sensei…" she said, as she locked the door and put the key in the bag with everything else, figuring that someone would change the locks soon, anyway, and turning to the hunter behind her, said:

"Okay, I guess it's time to go start my new life."

" **Everything settled?"**

"Yeah, I think so. Let's go; the neighbors should be back asleep by now."

With this, they began the six-block walk back to the ship.

It was a good thing that Kantra was the silent type, because Grey really needed the quiet time to think. She couldn't believe that this was actually happen, and that she'd be starting a new life among aliens in space. But, as weird as it was to say, the idea was growing on her the more she thought about it.

They had made it about five blocks, when a noise behind them got their attention, and Grey quickly looked over to make sure Kantra was still cloaked. Seeing that he was, she was about to turn around to look for the source of the sound, but…

"Well, look who the fuck it is!"

Grey didn't even have to turn around to know who had spoken; she knew that voice. It was Ms. Gonzalez daughter…

"Tandy…" she said flatly, turning to look at the tall, tan, brunette, big-breasted, nineteen-year-old girl in the tube top and purple cutoffs and sandals who stood on the sidewalk just behind her, who was standing beside a guy who had to be at least ten years older than her.

This girl had made it her mission to mess with Grey ever since she could remember. Whether it was spreading rumors around the neighborhood or hiding the younger girl's clothes when she got out of the shower at home, she always found some way to torment her foster sister. This rumor-spreading was the main reason why everyone she came in contact with looked at her with such suspicion, and was a big factor in why she'd been so isolated and lonely most of her life.

"What the hell happened to your face, Grey?" she snorted, obviously meaning the diagonal scar across the black-haired girl's nose.

"What the hell happened to _yours_?" the same repeated, noticing that the older girl had what appeared to be vomit on the corners of her mouth, and a slight breeze brought the confirming smell of sick, pot and booze to her nostrils. She was also covered in various kinds of glitter, affirming Grey's suspicions that she'd been out clubbing again, and that either she or her "date" were drunk and stoned off their ass.

"Hey, who's the kid, babe?" the guy asked, either ignoring or unable to perceive the tension between the two females.

"This is the one I told you about, Gary; the one that ran off a month ago, remember?"

"Oh, yeah! After that Kung-Fu teacher got slashed up, right? They said some girl stayed after class to talk to him, and then he ended up dead and she went missing."

Grey was surprised to hear this, and didn't like where it was heading.

"You know, the cops went all through here, asking about that Asian guy, Grey. They looked for you awhile, too; but after a couple of weeks, they figured you just ran away or something. A lot of people said it was bound to happen sooner or later, anyway." Tandy said.

"Nah, I got kidnapped by aliens." Grey said flatly, her eyes flicking over to a still-cloaked Kantra, who was standing absolutely still a little up the sidewalk from her.

"Shit, I always knew you were crazy, Grey; aliens, my ass!"

"Yeah, crazy Grey…" the same muttered.

"You know what they've been saying about you for the past month, don't you?" the older girl asked, a smirk coming over her face as she wiped some of the puke off her mouth and tossed her short brown hair back the same hand.

"What's that?" Grey asked dryly.

"People around here have been saying that _you_ were the one who chopped up that teacher of yours."

"What?"

"Yeah. There's a couple of versions, actually. One of them says that he tried to put the moves on you, and sliced him up for that." she said.

"Go on." the younger girl said, her eyes narrowing.

"But the one I believe is the one about how you were banging him for awhile, then he dumped your scrawny ass, so offed him."

For Grey, there were only two things which, if brought up, were likely to get the offender seriously injured. One of them was the insinuation-and it wasn't a new one-that she and Sensei had some kind of inappropriate relationship. In all the years she'd known the man, nothing, _nothing_ , like that had ever gone on. The very idea of something like that made her sick, and took her from zero to rage in less than one second. The rumors that he favored one student a little too heavily had gotten Grey hauled to the school counselor's office on a couple of occasions, and she had a pretty good idea who started them.

"Bitch, you'd better shut your mouth." Grey said slowly. It was the one warning the older would get.

"You know those Asian guys are pervs when it comes to girls your age, right? It's weird, though; I kinda figured you'd go for tacos, instead of sausage, if you know what I-"

Her last words were cut off by Grey's foot, which collided with the side of her head, sending her flying off the sidewalk and stumbling into the gutter, while her attacker stood up, still staring at her with utter hatred.

"Shit! Tandy!" the guy-Gary-said, and went over to help her. When she was finally able to stand, Grey saw with satisfaction a blooming black eye and quite a bit of blood coming out of her nose, staining the pink tub top she was wearing.

"CRAZY BITCH!" the older girl screamed, holding her nose with one hand while her date struggled to keep her up with the other.

"You have no idea what I've been through in the past month; you don't know what crazy is yet." Grey said, not taking her eyes off the pair, nor moving from where she stood.

"Why the hell did you even come back here? No one's been looking for you, anyway! Everybody always knew you were gonna turn out as fucked-up as your dad!" Tandy screamed, as she tried to wipe her nose on the back of her hand.

And the subject of Grey's parents was the second thing that nobody was allowed to comment on.

"Who's her dad?" Gary asked, looking at Grey, then back to Tandy.

"It's fucking Tristan Grey!" she yelled, and Gary immediately went pale and stared at the girl before him.

Tandy had barely looked up, when she saw the younger girl flying through the air at her, delivering a flying kick that knocked her back about five feet, while her date stood there and watched as though he wasn't sure what had just happened.

"You got something to say?" she asked, looking at Gary.

" _Fuck_ no!" he said, and went to help Tandy.

"Then I'm fucking out of here." Grey said, and began walking back to Kantra's ship again. She could see the faint disturbance in the air that let her know he was there, and was pretty sure he'd want an explanation; and soon.

Finally, they arrived back at the field, and Kantra uncloaked his ship, and they both boarded, without saying a word.

 **Hope you like it, and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't oven AVP or any of the franchises. I only own my original story ideas and characters.**

 **Before I even start this chapter, I feel I have to call attention to a review I received on Chapter 1.**

 **This is the review I received:**

"The only moral issue I have so far is the fact that this girl is only 15. What the fuck. Probably should've made her at LEAST 18 for all the sexual situations she's in. 15 is a child. :("

 **Now, if this reviewer had READ the Author's Note I added to the bottom of the first chapter, I did point that my original intention** _ **was**_ **to make her older, but by the time I started re-thinking her age, I had already written the first four chapters. It is what it is, and I'm not re-writing anything. I believe I also pointed out that there are a lot of other fics on this site with stuff that's a lot more messed-up than anything I could ever write. I'm sorry if it offends anyone, but I'm not changing it. I'm sure I'll regret this, but PM me with your thoughts, dear readers.**

 **But, to be fair, I can understand if anyone has some discomfort with this issue.**

 **Also I'd like to take the time out to ask if anyone has any questions on the story so far. You can PM me with those, too; but keep in mind that I can't reply back on weekends.**

 **And a HUGE thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed so far! I don't know if this story will get as much love as the One Crazy Life series, but I can hope.**

 **Chapter 7**

As the ship lifted off the ground, Kantra set the auto-pilot to take them back to the Mother Ship, and then turned to see Grey sitting in a chair, looking tired, and staring at the ceiling.

This excursion to Earth had turned out to be more interesting than he'd thought possible. He had seen Grey's home, been pestered by a domesticated feline, been bitten several times on the feet by vicious insects, seen the Ooman break down in another crying fit, broken into a building to reclaim property that did not belong to her in the first place, and witnessed her defend her honor against another female. He had never been so invigorated by his stay on another planet, unless trophies were involved, of course.

It was the last part of their stay, however, in which Grey had confronted the other female, that was foremost on his mind at the moment. Though he hadn't completely understood their exchange, he could tell from their voices that their words were quite heated. He had not known Grey long; but he did know that, even in her life-or-death confrontation with the Bad-Blood, she had not been nearly as enraged as she was when the older female had taunted her.

" _She must have been defending her honor, then."_ he concluded, as he watched her get up from the chair and lie back on the bed with a sigh, and resume staring into space. Whatever the older female had said to her must have been a grievous insult indeed.

He then decided that he would play back the audio that his mask had recorded from the fight, and try to figure out what the whole affair had been about, as Grey did not seem to want to talk about it at the moment.

And then there were the weapons she had collected from her teacher's home, that were still in the large black bag that was setting on the table. At first, he had thought that she was stealing, or something; and was outraged that she had taken him along on a thieving mission. But that didn't make sense, as his mask showed that most of them were simply decorative, and probably wouldn't fetch any sort of price; and what would Grey need with Ooman currency anymore? The only real one among the lot was a battered old blade that was, in fact, authentic. The thing had to be at least two Earth centuries old, and by the microscopic traces of old blood picked up by his scanner, had seen battle, in its day.

She had then tried to explain that it was not their value, but their sentiment, that made her return to the place. She didn't want her teacher's property becoming trophies for someone else, who couldn't appreciate them as she obviously did. It was the same thing with the picture she had taken from the wall; an image of her and her teacher, captured in time, and a memory that she could revisit whenever she wished. From the way she'd nearly collapsed in tears when she saw it, Kantra's suspicions were confirmed that Grey viewed this Sensei as far more than an instructor; the two of them had obviously had a very deep connection.

" _It will take her some time to move on from this."_ he thought; but what was coming up in her life would, at least, keep her mind somewhat occupied until then. He had fulfilled his end of their arrangement; and now, it was time for her to do the same. Her new life began now.

"So, what now?" she asked, bringing him out of his thoughts. He looked over to see her sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring back at him with a kind of blank expression.

He typed up his response on his wrist gauntlet, and she went over and took the translator out of the bag to read.

"Now you go to the Homeworld, until you are old enough to begin your life as a proper huntress."

"I thought I'd stay on the ship and train with the others. I'm still… _Unblooded_ …aren't I?" she asked, checking the translator to make sure she got the rank right.

"You are not even that, yet. You are still a pup, and as such, you must be looked after until you are of age to begin training."

"I'm not a _pup_ ; I'm fifteen." she said, and he distinctly heard her mutter "asshole" under her breath, but chose to ignore it.

"You are still a child, even by Ooman standards. And Yautja live for far longer than Oomans, remember? Elder Yeyinde and I spoke about this before you and I left for Earth, and we have decided that you will have to remain on the Homeworld for ten years, to reach the relative age level of an Unblooded."

" _Ten years?_ At that rate, I'll be an old woman before I even _finish_ my training! I can't go on Hunts with a walker, you know!" she cried.

"There is a solution to that, as well; but for now, the focus will be your care until you begin your training as an Unblooded."

"So, you're gonna take me to your Homeworld and keep me there until I turn twenty-five?" she asked.

"I **will** take you to the Homeworld; but I must return to the Blood Moon Clan and my duties as an Arbitrator."

" _Please_ don't tell you're putting me in a Yautja orphanage or something; because I swear…" she began.

"You will be staying with my mother, and my maternal Clan. I contacted her while you were retrieving your things from your home, and she has agreed to look after you until you come of age."

"Wait a minute! You're telling me that I'm gonna spend the next ten years… _at your mama's house?"_

"When I explained the situation, she was quite agreeable to taking you in. This is a very good thing, Grey; until I thought of this, I had no idea what would be done with you. You were very clear that you did not wish to remain on Earth, and your presence on the Clan ship could prove to be problematic in several areas. I would not have time to look after you, you absolutely could not come with me, and you could not be allowed to roam around the ship unsupervised for the next **decade**. Before I contacted my mother, the only option **would** have been a home for orphaned pups. After you were too old to remain there, I could not see anything for you to do but become an Eta until your training began; and you will face enough discrimination without **that** adding to it. And anyway, this period will allow you to learn the Yautja language and adapt to our culture; learning as you go will not be an option once your training begins." he explained patiently.

She couldn't seem to find any holes in his argument, and let the matter drop.

"Okay, so I'm going to live with your mom…for ten years. I have to ask, though…what's she like?" she asked.

This question was a bit difficult to answer, but not because his mother was unkind; it was due to their incredibly complicated relationship.

"She will treat you well; I can assure you of that. She…was a fine huntress…once, so I assume she will train you herself, so you will have an edge when you begin your training with other Unblooded; and you **will** need an edge."

Grey seemed to take this as the last word on the matter, and resigned herself to what was to come.

"Okay… Your mom's house, it is. When are we going?"

"We will leave directly. You have no possessions or business on the Mother Ship, and my mother is expecting us. I do not wish to keep her waiting longer than in necessary."

"You sure I can't hang out with you, just for a few more days?"

"Unfortunately not. I must return to the Mother Ship as soon as I return from the Homeworld. I am sure it will not be too long before I am called away to deal with more Bad-Bloods."

"Are there a lot of them?" she inquired.

"Not really; I am just more…passionate…than others. There are actually very few serious offenders; the very presence of Arbitrators in our society ensures that."

"So then, what do Arbitrators do when they're not tracking down Bad-Bloods?"

"We are called upon to oversee certain Hunts, settle disputes, and sometimes serve as advisors to our Clan Leader, or mediate in disputes between Clans."

"Sounds important." she said, sounding genuinely impressed.

"It is."

"So, I'm gonna ask a hypothetical question here; what would happen if I were to be declared a Bad-Blood? Say I screwed up on a Hunt and took off, would you come after me?" she asked, a bit too casually for the Arbitrator's liking.

"With everything I have. Since I was the one who brought you into Yautja society, your dishonor would be mine, and I would be obligated to hunt you down."

She looked a little nervous at this, but, since the subject had been raised, he thought it best to get one thing out of the way while he had the chance.

"Grey, I do not mean this as a threat, nor do I mean to frighten you; but I must tell you now, and only once, that if you should ever stray from the honorable path, I will kill you."

Now she looked _very_ nervous.

"You must understand that this situation-your situation-is unprecedented among my people, who are, from this moment on, **your** people. Never before in our history has an endeavor like this been undertaken, and the Gods have willed that I be the first. I have staked my honor and reputation on you becoming a fine huntress, and your success or failure will reflect on me."

"No pressure then, huh?" she muttered sarcastically.

"You should be as eager to succeed as I am for you to succeed. Once you come of age, you will either have to hunt, or become an Eta; the only other possible alternative would be to remain with a female Clan, and I do not think that you would be satisfied with such a life, when so many possibilities are open to you."

"That's pretty true, actually."

"I would not be pushing you down this path, Grey, if I did not believe that you were fit for the journey."

"Then…you _believe_ in me?" she asked, sounding incredulous. It was then that he made the stinging realization that she was not used to hearing this, except from her Sensei.

"I do; and I believe in your abilities, although they could use some refining. Your stay with my mother will help begin that process." he admitted.

"Gotta crawl before you walk, I guess." she said, and he was surprised that she was so level-headed about the whole thing.

"Precisely."

"How long is it gonna take to get there, anyway?"

"Not too long; about one of your days, I should judge."

"That reminds me; I'm gonna have to get used to living on your guys' time, right? Then I figure I should ask right now: how long is a Yautja day, and how many of them are in a year? Do you have weeks and months?" she asked.

She then listened intently as Kantra explained that, since his Homeworld was somewhat larger than Earth, the days and nights were longer as well, along with the weeks, months and years. A day, he told her, was equivelant to 36 Ooman hours, a week was nine days long, a month was still four weeks, but a year was fifteen months, instead of twelve.

"Then your years have 540 days…" she said, after figuring up the total.

"Yes. There are also two suns, and much of the planet is covered in swamps, forests and jungles. Some places also have volcanoes and deserts, but you would never survive in them. We have some seas and small oceans, and lakes and rivers, of course; but not as much water as your planet. There really are no tall mountains, save for the volcanoes, and I have never heard of it snowing in any region. The weather is hot and humid most of the time, but it does cool down a bit during the rainy season, which lasts about three months. There are places with trees as tall as some of your larger buildings, and enormous collections of underground tunnels and hunting grounds, where the Adjudicators sometimes go to observe and aid in the training of the Young Bloods." he reminisced.

"Are there cities?"

"Yes, but they are few and far between. You may find this contrary to what you have seen so far, but Yautja do not like to be crowded together. A Mother Ship is plenty large for most of the hunters to find some serenity alone; but we do not do well when made to live as Oomans in your cities. There are certain events or circumstances that will see a mass return of our people to the Homeworld; but aside from this, most of the males remain traveling the stars with their Clans."

"Do the Clans ever get together?"

"Sometimes two or more Clans who are on good terms may come together for a tournament or the like; but we mostly keep to ourselves."

"Are there ever wars between different Clans?"

"It is extremely rare to have a full-scale war; but small skirmishes and feuds are known. These are mostly over territory, however, and can usually be resolved diplomatically. Long ago, I am told, there were large-scale wars between the Clans on the Homeworld; but when our people began to travel the stars, the animosity dissipated fairly quickly. The Council of Ancients does, however, occasionally set certain Clans against each other, to determine which will succeed them as the new Council. These battles, however, are almost never to the death."

"I suppose the life of a Yautja isn't an easy one.' Grey concluded, almost to herself.

"Perhaps not easy; but we find it to be the best way to live."

"I have to ask; what am I gonna _do_ , once I finish my training?"

"Once you have become a Young Blood, it will be time to choose which Clan you wish to join. If they find you acceptable, you will then be permitted to go on your first Chiva-an initiation Hunt-and, if this is completed successfully, you will be marked as a Blooded huntress, and a full member of your Clan."

"This may sound kind of presumptuous; but would it be possible for _me_ to become an Elder?"

"With enough time, yes; there are no rules against it that I have ever heard of. However, Elders spent much time onboard the Mother Ship, and I do not see you giving up the freedom of the Hunt; not after you've tasted it for the first time."

"Then, why did you give it up?" she asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"My duties as an Arbitrator keep me away from the Hunt the majority of the time."

"Yeah, but I mean, why did you _become_ an Arbitrator in the first place, then? You talk about how wonderful the Hunt is, but from what I gather, all you do is train in the Clan ship until your next mission or whatever, and then go and train some more when it's over."

"My responsibilities are great. My path is that of the Arbitrator. To fulfill my duty, I must give up certain things." he said, not wishing to discuss this matter any more thoroughly, which she appeared to sense.

"All right, but I'll figure you out one of these days. I'm really good at that, you know; that's why I can't friggin' _stand_ most of the people I meet. You and Elder Yeyinde seem okay, though, and if your mom's as cool with me coming to crash on her couch for ten years as you say, I'm sure we'll get along all right." she said, shrugging, before reaching into her bag and retrieving a book, and settled back on the bed and began reading, but after awhile, raised another subject.

"Do you really think I'll be able to do it; take out one of these Candy-Amoeba things-"

"Kiande Amedha." Kantra corrected.

"-and join the Clan? What are these things, anyway? I mean, they can't be any worse than the three assholes from before, right?" she asked, with a nervous sort of laugh.

At this, the Arbitrator pulled up some images and footage of different kinds of Hard Meat, their Hives, their life cycle, and archived footage of other Yautja battling them, and sent them to Grey's translator.

"What the _hell_! What is this thing?" she said, looking at what she'd been sent and activating the hologram function, so that a miniature Queen stood before her a little above the tablet, swinging her bladed tail and throwing back her magnificently-crested head to screech up at the Ooman.

"That is a Kiande Amedha."

" _This_? _This_ is what I'm supposed to hunt? How the hell do you expect me to take out something like this?" she asked, a look of horrified fascination on her face as the little Queen screamed up at them again.

"The one you see before you now is a Queen; no one expects you to claim a trophy from a Queen. These, however," he sent her an image of a Drone and Warrior, "will most likely be your kill."

"Oh, this makes me feel _so_ much better… How big are these things, anyway?" she asked.

To answer, Kantra pulled up a comparison chart between Yautja and several different echelons of Kiande Amedha, and sent it to her.

"Ah, _come on!_ Even the smallest ones have to be eight feet! What's the big girl over here, fifteen?" she asked, looking at the Queen's comparison hologram.

"Give or take a few noks." he confirmed, after taking a moment to do the calculation in his head.

"You guys are some sadistic motherfuckers!"

"You agreed to this, remember? **On your honor**." he reminded her.

"Yeah, but shit! Wait, it says here they have _acid for blood?_ That can't be right…"

"It is highly pressurized under the top layer of their skin; it is not actually their blood."

"And they can spit the stuff, too?" she said, still reading the specs on the tablet.

"Certain castes can, yes."

"They can crawl on walls and ceilings… A tail as long as their body, with a bladed spear tip… Claws on hands and feet… No discernable eyes… _Two mouths?_ Hey, are these the things from the trophy case outside Elder Yeyinde's place?" she asked.

"Indeed. He took down every single one of them during his time as a Blooded." Kantra said, with pride.

"Shit on me…" she muttered, settling back against the wall.

"You should look at the specifics of their life cycle, while you have the translator out." the Yautja typed, feeling that she may as well know everything at once.

"I don't see how they…could…get…any…worse… Dear God…" she ended in a whisper, the fascination gone from her face to be fully replaced by horror and revulsion as a strip of recorded footage showed a Yautja writhing in pain, followed shortly by the "birth" of a Hard Meat from his chest, covered in blood and bits of bone. The hologram then switched to a full-sized version of the larval stage of the creatures, which hissed at them and curled its long tail around itself.

At this point, she turned to look at him, and he could see that she had gone a little pale.

"You guys really fight these things?" she asked.

"We do, as I have said before."

"And if I want to be a part of Blood Moon, I'll have to fight one of them, too?"

"Yes, as has every hunter before you, and many will after."

She sighed, and slumped against the wall, looking out of one of the ship's view ports at the blackness of space just outside. Their conversation seemed to have made it clear to her that this was really going to happen.

"Ten years." she said, at length, and Kantra looked up from reading about a possible Bad-Blood sighting near a hunting planet to see her standing in front of him, her arms folded across her chest.

He cocked his head, unsure of what she was talking about, but she spoke again before he could verbalize his confusion.

"I only have ten years to train before I'm an Unblooded, and then, what, a year or two before the actual Chiva?"

"The time it takes for you to train will depend upon your instructor; but one to two years is the norm."

"Twelve years… I can do this. I'm _gonna_ do this. Those creepy-looking bastards won't stand a chance, once I'm done with my training." she said, the determination in her voice matched only by the look in her grey eyes.

"Your determination is admirable; but do not become overconfident. Many promising Young Bloods have let their arrogance go to their heads…and ended up losing them because of it." Kantra cautioned, though he felt a deep sense of pride as he looked at the female.

"I'm not being overconfident; I'm telling you _what's going to happen_. I'll train, take the Chiva and come back with a trophy; that's just the way it's gonna be." she said, in a hard tone.

As he watched her go back over to the bed and resume reading, the Yautja couldn't help but believe every word she had said, and had to admit to himself that her resolve was a bit frightening at times.

The rest of the journey to the Yautja Homeworld was uneventful, and Grey took the opportunity to read all she could about the Kiande Amedha. The more she learned, the more she realized that the creatures were basically the prefect killing machines. Every aspect of them, from the manner of their birth to the way they defended their Hives, was exceedingly violent, and she began to understand why Kantra and his race regarded them as the "ultimate prey".

As she watched and re-watched the footage gathered from previous Hunts, she began to see that the Hard Meat, while formidable opponents, were hardly invincible. While she watched the hunters take on Drones, Warriors, the rarely-encountered Royal Guards, and even Queens, she began to make mental notes on the fighting styles of each creature. The hardest part, she soon realized, would be focusing on the beasts' heads and tails at the same time, because too many of the recordings ended with a seemingly victorious hunter being impaled by a bladed, skeletal tail before the final blow could be struck for her to ignore the pattern.

The acid they bled was another issue; how was she supposed to fight something that could maim or kill her with its own secretions? Kantra had told her that Young Bloods were allowed Plasmacasters on their Chiva; but that there was far more honor in killing one of the inky-black nightmares with Wristblades, a spear or even a knife. Crushing weapons, such as clubs, were technically allowed, but owing to fact that a blow strong enough to kill one of these things would surely crush the skull and eliminate any hope of recovering a trophy, most forewent such armaments. Hand-to-hand tactics, she realized, would be suicide, an opinion with which Kantra agreed, and so she decided that she would follow his example and learn how to use a sword.

Kantra couldn't help but feel a little flattered by this, and spent several hours teaching her the proper stances and holding techniques of a master Yautja swordsman, and found that she was not only a very receptive pupil, but that she seemed to have a natural affinity for bladed weapons. He reflected back on how she'd looked at his blades back on the Mother Ship, and told himself that, once she had returned there as a Young Blood, he would give her a full tour of his personal armory; for what he had on the wall was just a taste of the marvels his collection held.

It was on the morning of the day they were to touch down on the Homeworld, when Kantra noticed that the Ooman was acting rather strangely. She paced back and forth, muttering to herself under her breath, and casting looks over her shoulder at him from time to time. At first, he couldn't figure out what he'd done to agitate her so much; but finally, she gave a mighty groan, which made him look up from another Arbitrator's report he'd been reading.

"We have to talk." she said simply, plopping down lightly on the bed, while he closed his wrist comp and looked at her, eager to know what had been bothering her so.

"Look, I know that you're…an Arbitrator and everything, and since I know you've probably been wondering what made me haul off and kick Tandy's skanky ass the other night, I figured I'd best tell you before you drop me off at your mom's house." she said, quickly, and not looking at him as she did.

"Okay, so… You know when Tandy said that I'm gonna end up just like my dad, and that Gary guy asked who my dad was?" she asked.

"I remember. She said that your father's name was…" he typed, but was unable to remember the Ooman's name.

"Tristan Grey, and then that Gary got all freaked out."

This was true; the male Ooman had seemed very shocked and disturbed upon the mention of that name, and Kantra had wondered what significance it held.

"Well, the reason he got all freaked out… It was because my dad's… Well, he's a Bad-Blood, is what you'd call him." she said, still not meeting his gaze.

Kantra was floored by this revelation, and his mandibles dropped in astonishment as he continued to watch the female, who got up and began to pace the length of the ship again.

"Look, he'd not… My dad's not evil, or crazy or anything, okay? It's just that he sort of…killed five people."

The Yautja's mandibles were nearly on the floor after hearing this.

"See, I was about two when this happened. My mom was walking home late from work, you know? And these five guys came out-well, they were thrown out-of this bar, and they were super pissed about it and drunk off their asses. They saw my mom walking alone and started bugging her; I have to say, I don't get my looks from my mom, 'cause she was gorgeous. Now, my mom was a hell of a fighter; but she couldn't do anything against five drunken guys, so she took off running instead. Well, she ended up running out into the road, and this guy out driving his car accidentally hit her, and she died before the paramedics could get there. There were witnesses who saw the guys chasing her, and it didn't take long before the cops hauled their asses in for questioning. Long story short, they got charged with public intoxication, menacing, and fleeing the scene of an accident. Their hotshot lawyer was able to plead them out on probation, and none of them saw a day in jail." she said.

"What then?" Kantra typed, and waited until Grey collected herself enough to continue.

"This didn't really sit well with my dad. Here he was, this blue-collar factory worker from Dublin, and now he was a widower with a kid, and had to start putting his life back together without his wife. He didn't think that the punishment the guys got was nearly enough for leaving him without the woman he loved and me without a mom, so he…killed all five of them…in some pretty brutal ways, to be honest. I'll spare you the details; I don't like to talk about it. Anyway, once he'd done that, he went to the police station and turned himself in; he was still covered in blood and…other stuff…when he went in there, too. The trial hardly lasted any time at all, and my dad got life in prison without parole. His lawyer tried to get him to plead insanity, but the way he put it, he wasn't crazy; he just wanted the men who caused his wife's death to be punished. He said that the only thing he regretted about the whole thing was that now his daughter didn't have a father, either. He's still in prison, but a little after my tenth birthday, they moved him to medium security, because he had never really shown any violent tendencies since then. Last I heard, if he keeps up the good behavior, they might consider one of those nice cell blocks, where the cells are more like dorms, with desks and stuff. I used to send him letters every week, and he'd write back; but sometime after I turned ten, mine just got returned, and he didn't send any more. For awhile, I though the didn't want anything to do with me, but then I started to wonder if maybe he thought it was best if I didn't have contact with him or something. I saved all the letters he ever sent, though; they're in the bag." she finished.

"What about the driver of the vehicle that struck your mother?"

"Him? My dad didn't blame him; he was just driving home from work. He couldn't have known my mom was gonna run out in front of him. He came to her funeral and begged my dad's forgiveness. The five guys who chased her didn't even send a damn card."

"But if no punishment was handed down, your father had a right to avenge your family's honor." Kantra pointed out.

"Human courts don't give a damn about family honor. As far as the law was concerned, the verdict was handed down, and that was the end of it. My dad had no legal right to go anywhere near any of those guys, let alone kill them, and he knew that. Ever since it got out in all the papers and tabloids what he did to those guys, people have been…pretty damn scared. I don't know if they think he's gonna break out or what; all I know is that every time people find out he's my dad, they get this weird look and sort of stay away from me after that. It's been happening ever since I was little."

Kantra, of all people, could understand this.

"Why did you decide to tell me this? I do not believe it is something you would normally share."

"Because… I don't know… Maybe I thought that you could…understand the circumstances… Plus, you don't seem like the type who likes to have stuff like this sprung on you; and something like this is bound to come up sooner or later…it always does."

" _Always…"_ the Yautja thought, with a tinge of bitterness.

"And, I was kind of worried that you'd freak out, too…just like everyone else always has. They've always said that I was gonna end up like my dad; hell, I look almost like him, when he was a kid back in Ireland. My dad isn't a violent person, really, though; he'd get into a fight now and then with his buddies, but once everybody sobered up, everything was cool again. I heard my mom was really level-headed, and super nice; but she could keep my dad in line without any problems."

They sat in silence for awhile after that, until Kantra decided to be the one break it.

"You will not suffer for your father's deeds, however warranted they were. I will see to that." he vowed, and meant it. He'd be damned if Grey was going to go through the same thing here that she had on Earth, and the same thing he'd gone through.

"That's nice of you to say." she said, but he knew that she didn't really believe him; why should she, after everyone else had judged her almost from infancy?

" _You will not suffer…as I did."_ he thought.

"Hey, you want to know something funny? My parents met in a street fight. My mom's friend was fighting, and my dad was going around taking bets against her. My mom gave my dad a left hook, and when he came to, the cops had showed up, and he was in the back of a cruiser on his way to jail."

Kantra couldn't help but clatter with laughter at this.

"When Dad made bail, Mom was waiting outside the courthouse to apologize for hitting him, and they started dating after that. They got married a year later, and my dad ended up in jail again over some unpaid parking tickets. He ended up being made a trustee in the library, and earned a lot of privileges because of good behavior. Everyone in the place loved him, but nobody more than my mom. You want to know something messed-up?" she asked, and Kantra nodded, although a little hesitantly.

"I was conceived during a conjugal visit, and I was born in the prison ward of the local hospital, when my mom took a swing at a cop at an animal rights protest because he was frisking her ass a little too long. She went into labor when they were putting the cuffs on, and they were still on when she held me for the first time. I'll have to show you the picture sometime; my mom, handcuffed, holding baby me, and the cop she punched standing off to one side, with a big black eye."

The Arbitrator couldn't contain himself, and continued his rapid clicking of laughter for some time.

"How do you know all of this, by the way?" he asked, once he'd calmed down.

"Well, the story of how they met, he told me. The stuff about the conjugal visit I read in some tabloid or other a few years back. One of my mom's old friends gave up the whole sordid story to make some fast cash or something, I guess. I caught hell for that one for almost three months, and got hauled into the school councilor's office at least twice a week. They were always asking if I wanted to talk about it, and finally I just broke down and said hell no, I don't want to talk about my own conception! What kind of sick shit is that?"

This instigated another laughing fit on Kantra's part.

"So, are we good, now that you know all that?" she asked, looking warily at him.

" **We are."**

"And… You're not gonna let this get around, are you? It's bad enough everyone on Earth knows, without the rest of the universe knowing my dirty laundry, too."

" **It is not for me to tell."** Kantra assured her, and her relief was almost palpable.

"Thanks, Kantra. You really are honorable; and I hope I can be, too." she said, smiling and picking up the translator to continue her study of the Hard Meat.

" _I have no doubt you will be, little one."_ he thought, going back to his report.

At last, the Homeworld came into view; an enormous ball of mixed greens, browns and some greenish-blue, surrounded by a huge ring of asteroids and space debris that had been caught in the planet's orbit long ago.

"This is your planet, huh?" Grey asked, looking out of the same view port as the Arbitrator, her eyes wide with amazement at actually seeing another world.

"Indeed. This is where my people-our people-originate from." he responded, looking fondly down at the planet of his birth.

"Our people… I've never had people before." she admitted.

The ship piloted itself across the planet's atmosphere, flying lower at a gentle angle, and passing over mountains, forests, small patches of desert, and a few rivers and lakes, until the only thing that could be seen below was a vast green jungle, which made Grey think of the planet where she'd been taken to be hunted. She shook this off, though, when she told herself that this experience was going to be a lot better.

Finally, they hovered over an enormous clearing in the middle of the jungle, with a huge lake and waterfall nearby, and as the ship touched down, the human began to grow very nervous about this whole living-with-Kantra's-mom plan.

" **You will do fine."** he reassured her in English, as the door opened for them, and he slung the duffel over one shoulder, leading the way down the ramp and onto the planet's surface.

Silently hoping he was right, she took a deep breath, and followed him outside.

The first thing she noticed was the heat. It felt the same as the Bad-Bloods' planet, but it was more humid here. The feeling she got from the place was different, too; she didn't feel like she'd be attacked at any second, and so she was able to appreciate what she could see of her surroundings. The air smelt great here; fresher than anything she'd ever experienced, and all around were the sounds of wildlife and insects.

It wasn't long before she saw several large, round, domed structures made of something resembling light reddish-brown clay, with large windows and doors. There were also a number of what she soon came to realize were fire pits, each one being located beside a house and immaculately maintained. She imagined that this place must smell pretty good when all the inhabitants were out cooking at the same time.

A bit of movement caught her eye, and as she turned in its direction, she saw that it was a Yautja-the first female she'd ever seen-who had exited one of the smaller houses and was walking toward them with a surprising, and familiar, grace. As she got closer, Grey could see that she was wearing an ankle-length, strapless dress of light brown cloth, and a long rust-red sash as a belt. Her hair was longer than Kantra's, and decorated here and there with differently-colored bands of thread and small discs that looked to be made out of some kind of shells, instead of metal rings. Her eyes were a lovely honey color, and even her mandibles were elegant. Her skin was a medium cream-brown, with lighter splotches here and there.

"Greetings, Mother." Kantra said simply, as the tall female approached the pair.

"Hello, Kantra. I was surprised to hear from you, after so long. If not for the occasional gossip, I'd know nothing of my pup's grand accomplishments." she replied, in the soft tone she always had for him.

"It is a great shame to me that my first message home in so long was one asking for a favor, Mother; and such a great one at that. I must admit my shock at your agreeing to this undertaking." the Arbitrator replied, not meeting his mother's eyes.

"I don't believe it will be any sort of burden, if this little one shows as much promise as you say. As long as she behaves respectfully, I don't foresee any real problems." she replied, looking at Grey, who smiled nervously and edged back behind Kantra a bit.

"She can be very respectful, to those she trusts. She has something of a casual attitude, and an admittedly foul mouth at times; but aside from that, she is…pleasant to be around."

"Can she eat our food, or does she require anything special?"

"She can eat everything we eat, as far as I know. I have seen her eat almost enough for a grown male, to no ill effect. She still needs some feeding up, after what she went through, and a bit of muscle would not hurt, either."

"I believe I can manage that. Is she clean? I mean, does she clean up after herself? I have no patience for a messy pup."

"She does. And you will not have to worry about space; everything she has is in this bag she brought." Kantra said, nodding his head to the duffel.

"Everything is…in there? What an unfortunate situation…" the taller Yautja muttered, looking at the Ooman, who had by this time completely disappeared behind her son.

"That is not all. Recently, she has suffered the loss of her fighting instructor, with whom she was very close, at the hands of the Bad-Bloods."

She let out a small growl at the mention of these, but allowed him to continue.

"This instructor-she calls him Sensei-was one of the few people she trusted, from what I can gather, and his death has dealt her a heavy blow. If she begins…crying…you will know why; but you can communicate with her via the translator she is holding and your wrist comp."

"The poor pup…"

"She is looking forward to being trained by you, Mother; she has decided to begin preparing for her Kiande Amedha Chiva as soon as possible. She has also shown great intelligence and an eagerness to learn, and she catches onto things quite quickly." he said proudly.

"Excellent! I'll train her, Kantra, and she will pass her Chiva flawlessly; as you did."

"I know you will, Mother. The only issue is that she does not yet comprehend our language, and our customs are still foreign to her, as well. If she is to one day present herself as a huntress, it is imperative that she master these things as soon as possible."

"I'll teach her our tongue and our ways; she won't remain ignorant for long. If she is indeed quick-witted, it shouldn't take long for her learn." Ijane assured her son.

"I have no doubts, Mother. Now, I pray you will forgive me, but I must go; there are things I must attend to back on the Clan ship." Kantra said, setting the duffel down on the ground and stepping away from where Grey was still hiding behind him.

"Will you not stay for dinner? I could have something ready within the hour…" she offered, sounding hopeful.

"No, Mother. I think it would be best if I left now. I will, of course, help support you while you keep her here." he assured, bowing to her, and turning to the Ooman.

"My mother will look after you now. Do as she says, and be respectful, and you will get along fine. Her name is Ijane."

"What?" Grey asked, not sure of how to pronounce the name.

" **Ee-ya-nay."** the hunter said, and after she'd repeated this a few times to make sure, he nodded.

"I will contact you soon, to see how things are progressing." he said, to his mother, and bowed again, before ascending the ramp.

As the ship took off, Grey couldn't help but feel the loneliness settle around her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Don't own AVP, wish I did, though.**

 **Chapter 8**

As she watched her son's ship depart, Ijane sighed. This had been the most contact she'd had with her now-grown pup in quite some time, and she wished that it could have lasted a little longer.

" _At least he will be checking in to see how the pup is doing…"_ she thought to herself, watching as the dark-haired female looked up at her, smiling slightly, her musk of nervousness brought to the Yautja by the slight breeze. The chance to have regular contact with her son was one of the reasons why she'd agreed to look after the pup in the first place; though not her only one. The simple truth was that Ijane loved pups, and the chance to look after one-Ooman or otherwise-was too tempting to pass up. Also, there weren't nearly enough females out there hunting, in her opinion, and the opportunity to train another female warrior was irresistible.

"Come, little one; we'll get you settled, and then you can a bath and something to eat." she told the younger female, using her wrist comp as Kantra had told her when he'd first contacted her about this arrangement.

"Uh, okay… My name's Grey, by the way; and you're Ijane, right?" she asked nervously, picking up her bag with some effort.

"Grey… Yes, I'm Ijane, mother to the Honored Arbitrator Kantra. Do you need help with that?" she asked, seeing how heavy the bag seemed to be.

"Yeah, thanks…" she replied gratefully, handing the bag to the larger female, who seemed to have as little trouble lifting it as her son had.

As they began to walk in the direction of one of the domed houses, Grey wondered what lay in store for her during the next ten years. Ijane seemed nice, if a little intimidating at first sight; but the awkwardness she'd felt between her and her son was a little puzzling. It was weird how Kantra didn't really look her in the face, and though this could have been another Yautja custom, Grey wondered if there was more to the situation.

The inside of Ijane's house was cool and clean, with floors made out of smooth brown stone. There was a large common area with a low table and many big cushions, and another room accessible by a large archway that, from the incredible smell coming from it, must have been the kitchen. A few thick-looking curtains blocked off other rooms, which Grey figured must be at least two bedrooms and the bathroom, if Yautja homes were anything like those of humans. On the walls hung various weapons and an impressive collection of skulls (including human ones) and other trophies, and Grey remembered Kantra telling her that his mother had been a huntress at one time.

"You will be residing in Kantra's old room; it is this way." the translator informed her, and she followed Ijane through one of the thick curtains into a smaller room, wherein she found another large pile of cushions and furs and another low table, along with a large cabinet that she guessed must serve as the closet.

"This is great; I've never had my own room before." she said, as Ijane set the duffel on the table.

"I'm sorry if the furnishing is a little sparse; my son always was a believer in simplicity. I've had all the cushions cleaned, though; no need to sleep on years of dust. I'm a bit of a…what's the word you Oomans use, neat freak?"

"Actually, so am I. I like this place, and I'm grateful to you for letting me stay here…especially for so long." Grey admitted, a little nervously.

"When Kantra contacted me regarding your situation, I had to re-read the message several times before I could believe it. I've heard tales and rumors of Oomans joining Yautja clans before; but never have I heard of a situation such as this… To be trained in our ways before going on your Chiva…you are very fortunate, Grey."

"I think so, too. Speaking of training, though; Kantra may have told you already, but I'm sort of eager to get started. From what I've seen regarding Kiande Amedha, I can only hope ten years with you and one or two as an Unblooded will be enough."

"There's plenty of time for your training, young one. You will, however, need to start learning the ways of our people as soon as possible. Tomorrow, I'll introduce you around the village and take you to the physician to make sure you're fit to train in the first place; from what my son has told me of your experiences, you may require more time to fully recuperate. You'll have to get used to our time, climate, atmosphere, food, language, culture…everything."

"It's almost like I'm starting over from when I was a baby…"

"That is, I'm afraid, a fairly accurate analogy. Though your fighting skills are, I'm told, impressive for one so young, you are, socially speaking, at the same level as a pup less than half your age. You're going to have to learn everything from the beginning, just like the sucklings who still cling to their mothers."

"Now, wait a second!" Grey began, but Ijane held up a hand for silence.

"Don't be offended; this situation can work to your advantage. Because of the special circumstances, I believe the Matriarch will be far more willing to allow you to remain here. Once she returns from the Great Temple, I'll take you before her, and she will decide what is to be done next."

"Matriarch? Great Temple?"

"The Matriarch-her name is Di'sedi-is the leader of this clan, as an Elder is the leader of a hunting clan. She is, at present, visiting the Great Temple, where the High Priestess of Paya resides. When she returns, she will be most eager to see you, I should think. I would have contacted her before your arrival; but pilgrims to the Temple are not allowed any sort of technological devices inside the grounds."

"What if she…doesn't think I should stay here?"

"I doubt your presence here would cause any real disruption; but just to be sure, you must be as respectful as possible to her."

"She sounds kind of…intimidating…"

"She can be, if her ire is raised enough; though the same can be said of myself. Like mother, like daughter, as I believe the saying goes."

"Like mother… Wait a minute, is the Matriarch your _mom_?" Grey asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Indeed, and as such, it's especially important that you don't make any sort of trouble while you're here, or we both will be shamed. I don't mean to sound harsh; but as I'm sure you've already discovered, we Yautja take a great deal of pride in our honor and reputation. To bring shame to yourself would be to bring shame to me, and to Kantra, who is, to be frank, taking an enormous risk in his decision to train you and introduce you as a huntress."

"Yeah, he mentioned… I don't really know what to think about that, though; not many people have taken a chance on me before…except…Sensei…" she trailed off, her teacher's demise still raw in her mind, and a few tears began to fall onto her t-shirt again.

Upon seeing the pup's sadness, Ijane's maternal instincts kicked into overdrive, and she moved forward and embraced her, before she realized that her action might have confused or even offended her new houseguest. The smaller female, however, didn't pull away, but stood there, as though shocked by this sudden contact.

Grey was _indeed_ shocked; she'd never really been hugged before, at least, she supposed, not since before her mother had died and her father had went away to prison. Ms. Gonzalez wasn't the cuddling type, and Sensei's most affectionate gestures were an occasional ruffling of her hair or pat on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have…" Ijane hurriedly tried to explain, hoping she hadn't just ruined everything before anything got started.

"No… It's okay, I just never… Uh… Weren't you going to show me the…the bathroom…?" Grey asked awkwardly.

"Oh, right… It's this way…" the Yautja said, and led her new charge to another room, which was essentially a somewhat larger version of what Kantra had in his quarters aboard the Mother Ship.

"Wow, it's really nice here. I like your house, Ijane." Grey complimented, once she'd been asked to sit at the low table in the common room. She'd never been good at small talk.

"Thank you. I'm glad you decided to stay with me, Grey; I haven't had a pup here since Kantra went off as an Unblooded to train."

She wanted to ask if Ijane had any more kids, but as they'd only just met, she thought it might be a rather forward question, and decided to leave it for the time being.

Soon, Ijane came out of the kitchen with a large bowl of some kind of stew, which Grey ate gratefully, surprising the older female with how much she could put away. After this, she took a hot shower, and by the time she'd gotten herself dried off and changed into one of the huge men's t-shirts she liked to sleep in, she was feeling very tired, and strangely content in her new surroundings, though she did admittedly miss Kantra, and found it strange that she could miss someone whom she'd only known a couple of days.

By this time, it was the time of day that Ijane explained was called First Sunset, and once Second Sunset came around-about an hour later-the night would begin, naturally. Grey couldn't help but watch out of one of the windows as first one, and later the other of the two suns sank below the horizon, and she liked the idea of an extra hour of twilight; she loved the colors in the sky at sunrise and sunset.

As the night rolled in, and she lay down on the pile of cushions with a large woven blanket, Grey felt strangely at home in this new place.

" _I'm gonna make it here…"_ she thought resolutely, as she began to drift off.

Many, many miles away, as Kantra's ship made its way quickly through the infinite blackness of space, the Arbitrator lay back on his bed and wondered how the Ooman was doing.

He had no doubt that his mother would take care of and train her; but he did worry about how she'd be received by the rest of the females in the Lakeshore Clan, which was the name of his mother's clan.

Though Ijane would act honorably, he didn't like to think of the sort of reception Grey might receive from the others. Would she be treated rudely or cruelly, or just be ignored altogether? If nothing else, he hoped it was the last one; she seemed to be fine with being on her own, anyway. Though he was immensely proud to be a Yautja, there was no denying that a significant number of his people held themselves superior to Oomans, and that was bound to cause problems for Grey at some point.

At this time, he decided that he would return to the Homeworld at the next opportunity and see how she was dong. Also, he knew he'd hurt his mother with such an abbreviated visit, and swore that next time, he'd at least give her the pleasure of staying for dinner; he could say that he wanted to see a demonstration of Grey's progress or something…

" _Her path will be long; and none too smooth, I should judge."_ he thought, rolling over to face the wall.

But there was little doubt in his mind that she would become one of the finest hunters in the Blood Moon Clan.

When Grey awoke several hours later, she saw a faint glow coming from the large, circular window, and wondered if she'd slept through the entire night.

"No way; if what Kantra said was right, night here lasts for eighteen hours or something…" she thought, and although she could get in a good twelve hours of sleep if she was left alone, she'd never done eighteen before.

Going over to the window, she was shocked to see that the glow wasn't caused by the suns rising; but by dozens of large floating orbs and fires around the houses in the village, which lit up the entire clearing, and she could faintly hear the inhabitants conversing, though between the distance and her inability to understand Yautja, she could make out none of the words.

A small noise got her attention, and as she looked over to the curtain that served as her door, she could see a tiny sliver of light through one of the edges.

Grabbing her translator, she opened the curtain and was surprised to see Ijane, already dressed in a pale blue tunic top and matching hanging cloth that showed off her impressive legs, bustling around the common room, re-arranging the cushions and straightening her trophies on the walls.

"I'm glad to see you're up." she typed, noticing Grey standing in her doorway with a confused expression.

"Um, yeah… Is there a party or something going on? It kind of sounded like everybody was outside, and there's all these lights…" she said, walking over to the female.

"Party? I don't believe so. What you saw is what happens every night here." she said, sitting down on one of the cushions and motioning for her guest to do the same.

"Everybody comes out of their houses in the middle of the night?" the human asked, taking a seat.

"I'm sure you've already been told that our Homeworld, being larger than yours, has days and nights that are longer than what you are used to?"

"Yeah, Kantra was telling me about that."

"Well, while it is true that Yautja naturally sleep longer than Oomans, given the chance, females with young pups aren't afforded that luxury. Those of us who go on Hunts will catch whatever sleep they can, whenever they can, and will make it up when they return to their ships. This being said, even if we sleep as much as we naturally would, the nights here are longer, and so our days begin much earlier than yours." Ijane explained.

"How long are the nights here?" Grey asked.

"I believe they are the equivalent of fourteen of your hours."

"Hm, I thought they'd be divided up equally, like on Earth…" the human said thoughtfully.

"They might, if we had only one sun; but two of them and one moon means that nights are somewhat shorter than days. Normally, we just take short, light naps whenever the opportunity presents itself during daylight hours. It keeps our energy up, whether male or female."

" _So they take power naps…"_ Grey thought. She could never do that; it was either full sleep or nothing, and her sleep was deep. Ms. Gonzalez would often comment, upon finding the girl napping in odd places around the house, that Grey slept like she was in a coma.

"So then, what do you do, when you wake up at night?" she asked.

"Many of us go outside and visit with each other until our pups awaken, and then we prepare the morning meal, and the younger pups go back to sleep after this. Some of us will even go over to the lake for a swim, if the mood takes us. Occasionally, we use this time for a bit of late-night hunting or food-gathering. I prefer this time for training and a good run, myself."

"It's gonna take awhile for me to get used to this new sleep schedule…"

"Ease into it, is my advice; otherwise, you'll end up tired all day or unable to sleep at night."

"I think I'm caught up, for the moment; what should I do now?"

"Well, if you like, we can use this time to begin your lessons on the Yautja language. You must master it, if you're to have any hope of truly entering our society. The Matriarch will return in about ten days, and it will help your cause a great deal if you can converse with her in our language."

At this mention of language, Grey decided to give voice to a question that had been bugging her ever since she'd met Ijane.

"Hey, can I ask you something first?"

"What's that, pup?"

"Well, I noticed when I met you that…well…you talk a little differently than Kantra and Elder Yeyinde…" she said, hoping that she wasn't being offensive. She had realized a while back, however, that Kantra and the Elder didn't use contractions when they spoke, while Ijane did, and she wondered if it was a hunter thing or a female thing or what.

"I think I know what you're referring to, Grey. The simple answer is that, as Kantra and his Elder are of very high rank, they are held to a higher standard than the average Blooded or even Honored hunter. The way they speak is considered more formal, and befitting of their status; though it is not required. Most of the Yautja you'll meet will probably speak in a more casual manner, as we do. Personally, I think it's ridiculous and time-consuming to talk like that all the time." Ijane admitted, and Grey couldn't help but agree with her.

Over the next few hours, Ijane patiently taught her charge the basics of the Yautja alphabet and numerical system, and a few basic words and phrases to get her started. This was made somewhat easier thanks to the translator, and the fact that Grey had been doing some light studying of the language herself, whenever she'd had the chance aboard the Mother Ship and on the way to this planet.

Ijane also taught her about the customs and rules of the Lakeshore Clan, and explained what she would be expected to do during certain situations. She was taught to always show deference to those of higher rank, and to speak politely to the other females. She was cautioned to always be kind to the dozen-or-so pups that Ijane said were running around all over the village, because any female who thought her offspring might be in danger or distress could be fiercer than the deadliest Hard Meat, and it would be hard for the human to explain herself while she was being skipped like a stone across the surface of the lake—and that was if she was lucky.

"They'll probably be fascinated by you; but you must be patient with their questions and antics." the older female advised.

At last, both of the suns were up, and Ijane ended their lessons for the time being and resumed the tidying of her house, with help from Grey, who had no idea what else to do, and though she was getting a little tired again, thought it would be rude to go back to sleep and leave her new caretaker with the work.

Her conundrum was solved when Ijane told her to go bathe while she made breakfast, and when she returned to the common room a little later, wearing a shirt and long cutoff shorts and finishing brushing the last foot or so of her hair, she found a large plate of fruit waiting for her on the table.

"Hurry and eat, and then put this on." Ijane instructed, handing her what turned out to be a simple, long tank-style dress of soft green cloth.

"Where did you get this?" Grey asked, looking at the garment in wonder.

"I made it earlier this morning, before you got up. Forgive me, but from what I saw of your wardrobe, I thought it might be best for you to have something…presentable when I take you around the village today."

Grey knew exactly what she meant; most of her clothes came from thrift stores, garage sales and church donations, and as such, didn't often make the best first impression when meeting new people. Since she was about to be introduced to the entire Lakeshore Clan, she reasoned that something other than hand-me-downs was probably the better way to go; and it was obvious that Ijane agreed.

"Thanks… Really, this is beautiful…" she said, and went back into her room to lay it carefully across the table before returning to the common room to munch happily on the cantaloupe-sized, peach-tasting red fruit, which she'd been told was called _naxa_.

One she'd finished eating, she washed her face and slipped into the new dress, which fit her perfectly; neither too loose nor too tight, and plenty long and breathable. When this was done, she set about the task of trying to tie her hair back with the small ponytail she'd found in the bottom of her bag, but the thing snapped under the stress of all her thick black hair, and she gave up. It would have been easier and more practical, she knew, if she'd kept it short; but after all these years and such an impressive length, she was loath to cut it, no matter how much of a pain in the ass it was to maintain.

She was just stubborn like that.

Upon seeing her struggling with re-brushing it, Ijane seemed to take pity on her and, after disappearing for a moment, returned with a long leather cord and motioned for Grey to hand her the brush, which she did, and the two females were soon sitting on the cushions in the common room, with the Yautja sitting behind the human, making a soft rumbling sound as she gently plaited the generous amount of ebony hair and tied it with the cord; an experience that, like so many in recent days, was completely new to said human.

"Thanks, Ijane…again…" Grey said, running a hand over her braid, which was unlike any she'd seen on Earth, but was very similar to one of the many sported by her new caretaker.

"I think you'll make a much better impression around the village now…" the larger of the two mused, standing back to look at her charge, and the two headed outside so that Grey could be shown around to the Lakeshore Clan.

 **A bit of a short chapter, I know… Sorry about that!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own AVP or any of their related franchises. All I have are my characters and my own original story ideas.**

 **Chapter 9**

The dual suns were already shining brightly when Ijane led the young Ooman out of her home and into the large clearing that had been the home of the Lakeshore Clan for more generations than anyone could remember.

The clearing was a wide, well-kept area, in which stood a number of domed houses like Ijane's, some larger or smaller or with smaller domes attached to accommodate larger families. Here and there, females stood in small groups, talking amongst themselves as they tended food being cooked over their fire pits or hung wet garments over long laundry poles to dry in the sunlight and light wind. As they walked over the packed earth that made up the wide path down the middle of the village, Ijane made a mental note to make Grey a couple of pairs of extra-thick sandals, as it looked like her Ooman shoes were not long for the world.

" _She'll have to have some boots, too, when she goes off to train with the other Unblooded…"_ the Yautja thought, and remembered from her time as a huntress that Oomans were far more sensitive to the elements than her own people, and hoped that Grey's achievements would make up for what were sure to be seen as weaknesses. It would take a lot more than just a good set of awu'asa and heating mesh to keep her alive on a Hunt.

It didn't take long before the presence of the Ooman was noticed by the other females, and as the unusual pair passed by a few more houses, several of their inhabitants hurried out watch and talk quietly with their neighbors about what had to be the strangest occurrence in recent memory.

Finally, one of the females, a dark reddish-brown one with short black plaits, came up to Ijane, her sharp green eyes taking in Grey for a moment before speaking.

"I'd heard others saying they saw you walking around the village with an Ooman, Ijane; but I thought they had just been at the C'ntlip a little early… What in the name of Paya is going on?" she asked.

"My son found her when he tracked some Bad Bloods to their hunting planet-you know the one I mean-and brought her back with him. He wishes me to train her in the ways of the Hunt, after which, she will undergo her Chiva." the pale female explained, as Grey inched slowly away from the other female.

"Was that Kantra's idea, or yours?"

"You know my son, Nuini; he can't let an idea go, once it's in his head."

"Just like his mother, eh? I suppose the Matriarch has yet to hear of this arrangement?" Nuini asked.

"My mother will return from the Great Temple in a few days; I can tell her then. Until then, I'm letting Grey get used to the village."

"Grey?"

"That is the pup's name, according to Kantra."

"Not very imaginative… How is she faring so far?"

"She's only been here since late yesterday; but I am enjoying her company. I don't think she'll have too much of a problem getting along with everyone…most everyone…" Ijane said, on an afterthought.

"Mjadi…" Nuini muttered.

"I'm sure my sister will have some objection to her being here; I can only hope Mother's approval will silence her…though it certainly hasn't proven effective in the past."

With this being said, Ijane used the translator to tell Grey to introduce herself as she'd been taught, and the Ooman stepped forward and bowed politely.

"Greetings, Clan Sister, my name is Grey." she said, a little slowly, to make sure she pronounced everything correctly.

"Greetings, pup; I am Nuini, friend and hunting companion to Ijane." the other female said, nodding in acknowledgement.

"You've been teaching her our language, then? Well, I suppose she'll have to learn if she's to join our people…"

"She learns quickly, too. By the time Mother returns, this pup should be able to carry on a fairly good conversation with her in our own tongue. I can only pray that she'll be well-received here."

"Well, if she minds her manners and doesn't cause trouble, she'll have my support. I can't see any of the others objecting too much, either. Anyway, I'm afraid I must take my leave; my pups will be up soon, and I'll have to nurse the youngest one again. Farewell." she said, nodding to the other two, and returned to her home.

"That was Nuini. She and I occasionally hunt together in the forest to the south of here. I watch her pups for her sometimes, when she goes off to gather food." Ijane explained, as they continued along their way.

"Is she related to you?" Grey asked.

"No, we are not related. While it is true that female clans do have more related individuals than hunting clans, it doesn't mean we're all family; at least, not by blood. Some females leave their maternal clans to seek out new experiences or more favorable living arrangements, or because certain clans attract attention from worthier males. Nuini came here about forty of your years ago, from one of the larger cities, because she wanted her pups to grow up away from all the noise and overcrowding. We have become very good friends over the years, however."

"Then she must have known Kantra when he was growing up…" the Ooman said thoughtfully.

"Why do you say that?"

"Like you said; she came here forty years ago. Kantra can't be more than–"

"About 163 of your years."

"What? He's 143?"

"We live much longer than Oomans; as such, our lives move at a somewhat slower pace."

"Then, relative to humans, how old is he?" Grey asked, and Ijane paused to think for a moment.

"I believe he would be in his early twenties, if I remember my Ooman time correctly. I was only a little older than he is when I bore him."

"Then, ten years for me won't be much time at all for you, will it?"

"Compared to how long I'll probably live, no."

"But if I'm staying with you for ten years, plus another two to train as an Unblooded, I'll be in my late twenties when I start hunting… How am I supposed to gain all this honor and notoriety if I'm past my prime before I even really get started?" Grey asked.

"There is a solution to that; but it will have to wait until the time is right. Until then, just focus on your training and getting used to how things are done here." the older female replied.

For the next couple of hours, Ijane took her charge around the village, stopping to talk with of the other females, and being stopped by others. It hadn't taken ling after their encounter with Nuini before most of the clan's pups were out and about, and they were soon following a little distance behind the new arrival.

"I think we have some company." Grey observed, turning to look at the small group of jostling youngsters.

"As I expected." Ijane typed.

After a little more pushing and shoving, one of the pups-a small brown female in a dark green tunic-was pushed forward by the rest of the group, and made her way slowly over to Grey, obviously having been "chosen" as the ambassador of the bunch.

"Well, aren't you cute?" Grey said, getting down to eye level with the pup.

"She is Ya'midi, one of Nuini's younger pups. Her father is an Elder of the Quick-Foot Clan." Ijane informed the human.

" _Gkaun-yte_ , Ya'midi." Grey said, trying out the Yautja greeting for the first time.

The little one let out a sort of squeak of excitement at being addressed directly, and scurried off to converse with her peers, the sound of many clicks, growls, chirps and squeaks drifting over to the older pair.

After a few moments, the group of pups seemed to have decided something, and in a moment, Grey was surrounded by no less than fifteen mini-Yautja, who crowded around and looked up at her, making sounds that she couldn't yet decipher, but she was sure they, like human children encountering an interesting adult for the first time, were asking a barrage of questions.

"It seems you've gained some admirers, Grey." Ijane observed, clicking her tusks in amusement at the scene before her.

Over the next couple of hours, Ijane took Grey around the village, introducing her to all of the females they met, which, to the relief of both the Yautja and her charge, occurred without incident. Once Grey had greeted the other females, most of them would ask Ijane what the Ooman pup was doing there, to which she would respond with the abbreviated story she'd told Nuini, which seemed to satisfy their curiosity; for as long as Grey caused no disruption to village life or any harm to their pups, her presence among them would go unchallenged.

All this time, they had been followed at a short distance by the group of pups, who were, as Ijane had predicted, absolutely fascinated by Grey, and when the time came for the pair to return to Ijane's home, they had to be called several times by their mothers before they returned to their own dwellings for breakfast.

"You did very well today, Grey. I think you made a good impression on the other females." Ijane informed the Ooman, once she'd returned to the common area, having carefully hung up her new dress and changed back into her overlarge native attire.

"Thanks. I was kind of worried I'd be, I don't know, chased out of the village or something." the younger female admitted, seating herself on a cushion.

"I doubt it would have come to that. Actually, many of the other females were impressed with your manners; they have, I am told, heard that Oomans can be rather uncivilized at times."

"I can't argue with that." Grey said casually.

"Your use of our language helped your cause a great deal, as well. By the time the Matriarch returns, I think I can teach you enough to hold a basic conversation. If she sees your dedication to learning our ways, I have no doubt of a favorable outcome."

"I'm just curious, and I don't want to jinx anything… What if your mom doesn't want me hanging around? What'll happen to me then?"

"I think the most likely scenario would be that Kantra would have to come fetch you, and he and Elder Yeyinde would be left to decide what to do from there. You wouldn't be killed, if that's what you're wondering." Ijane returned quickly.

"Kantra said something about me bring put into a kind of orphanage, if staying with you didn't pan out." the younger female said quietly, and the Yautja remembered that she had been in one on Earth, and was obviously not keen on repeating the experience, no matter what planet it would be on.

"I suppose that would be one possibility… Even so, you would be taken care of there. Our people, as a whole, place great importance on the raising of our young." Ijane informed her, coming over to sit on a cushion near her, catching the scent of Grey's anxiety in the air, and felt the maternal need to comfort the distressed pup.

"I mean, it wasn't like I was beaten or abused back there, or anything… A couple of times, I was taken in by foster parents; but they always ended up giving me back pretty fast."

"Why? Why would they return you?"

"Well, I don't know if Kantra told you this, but my dad's kind of…in prison…"

She then went on to explain about the accidental death of her mother, and her father's subsequent revenge and incarceration in the Ooman prison system, while Ijane listened quietly, taking in the unfortunate details of the pup's short life.

"And I got bothered a lot because of it, and because of that, I was kind of standoffish as a kid; I kept to myself, mainly. The foster parents want the friendly, bubbly kid; not the one who sits in the corner reading while the others avoid her. Also, every time I got fostered out, there was always some reporter or other bugging the couple that took me in, asking them how they felt about taking in Tristan Grey's kid, and if they were in contact with him, and whenever they had other kids, they'd get bullied or harassed at school, and I guess they just got tired of all the negative attention they got from my being around, so they always brought me back. I think my longest time away with a foster family was three weeks, but that was when I was six. After that, no one asked about me anymore."

" **Grey…"** Ijane said, in Ooman. She couldn't think of anything else at the moment; so many elements of the pup's story were familiar to her, and brought a torrent of old memories rushing to her mind.

"I guess it could have been a lot worse, though; at least I didn't end up with people who kept me around just for the notoriety or _touched me_ or anything. School sucked, and I wish our group home had more than one bathroom; but Ms. Gonzalez-the lady who raised me-was nice, and I had…I had Sensei…" she finished, with a small crack in her voice.

"You will **not** go through that again; I promise you." Ijane assured her.

"I hope you're right. I'm sure I said it before; but I like it here…" the Ooman said.

The former huntress couldn't explain why, but this simple statement gave her a great deal of pleasure, and as she looked at Grey, swore to herself that she would fulfill her promise to the younger female.

Throughout the next few days, Grey was taught more of the Yautja language by Ijane, along with Nuini, who made frequent visits to her friend's home, no doubt pestered into doing so by her three older pups, who would then gather around the human and ask her questions until they had to be shooed away to play outside, lest their incessant chattering disturb the youngest of their number-a four-month-old male named Dami-and cause him to start whimpering and growling in irritation.

Grey, after Nuini's initial visit, was permitted to hold little Dami, who didn't seem to mind as long as was near enough to keep an eye on his mother, eventually beginning to fuss to let her know it was time for his feeding, after which he would go to sleep in his mother's arms, his tiny mandibles opening and closing slightly as he breathed rhythmically.

Grey was glad to find that Nuini, like Ijane, had a fairly easy-going attitude, and a good sense of humor. This was evidenced on the third day of her stay with the Lakeshore Clan, when the human had walked in from outside, having been asked by Ijane to gather some of the fallen fruit from the naxa tree in back of the house, and been confronted with the sight of Nuini, sitting on a cushion, her tunic top pulled down to nurse Dami, giving the human a perfect view of a pair of breasts that were almost bigger than her head.

Both Ijane and Nuini had nearly fallen over laughing as Grey, nearly crying with embarrassment, had covered her eyes and tried to back out of the room, bumping against the wall several times as she did so, and had stayed out there for nearly half an hour, until she was assured by Ijane that Nuini's twins had been put away. Both the females had spent the rest of Nuini's visit gently teasing the human about the incident, until Ijane caught sight of how red her charge's face had become, and they put the subject behind them, for which Grey was immensely grateful.

Aside from this, the days leading up to Grey's interview with the Matriarch were pleasantly uneventful. Ijane would sit with the human in the common room, testing her knowledge of Yautja customs, laws, and, of course, the Honor Code, or else, they would take long walks through the village, with the larger female randomly pointing out objects, activities, animals, and so forth, and having Grey tell her what their Yautja names were. She learned quickly, to Ijane's immense pride, and soon was able to carry on short, basic conversations with the other females and pups with little trouble.

The females of the Lakeshore Clan were relatively polite to her, once it had been established that she was not going to cause any disruption to daily life in the village, and once their initial curiosity about the young stranger had been satisfied, went about their regular activities as if no change had happened at all.

Their pups, on the other hand, continued to follow Grey around in a group, but at a much closer distance than before, and were quick to ask her questions about herself, her planet, or in general, anything they could think of. Grey wondered why there didn't seem to be any teenagers or young adults around, and finally inquired on the subject to one of the older pups-a male of about ten-who explained, in a matter-of-factly way that most of the ones Grey's age thought that pups like them were beneath notice, and spent much of their time "training" a little way off in the forest if they were male, while the females generally occupied the shores of the nearby lake during the day.

Grey didn't think she was quite up to interacting with Yautja teenagers yet, and so she stuck around the village or Ijane's house, feeling much more comfortable in what was rapidly becoming a familiar setting.

Finally, the day arrived when the announcement came to Ijane that her mother, Matriarch Di'sedi, would be arriving back in the village sometime in the early afternoon.

Grey, who had been tasked with obtaining wood for the fire pit near the edge of the forest, was quickly ushered back inside by the larger female.

"What's going on?" Grey asked, wondering if she'd done something to upset her caretaker.

"The Matriarch is returning today!" Ijane replied, not using the translator, as she had told Grey that it was best that she began learning how to get along without it before she became too dependant on it. It was a little difficult distinguishing between all the different noises the Yautja made; but necessity demanded that she learn quickly.

"Today? Are you sure?" the human asked, becoming ten times more nervous, now that this day had finally arrived.

"I just got the message. Go take a bath, and then put on the newest outfit I made for you." she instructed, and Grey hurried off to do as she'd been told.

Once she'd bathed, she changed into the shin-length white tunic dress that Ijane had indicated before, and tied her black belt around her waist for luck. Over the past few days, Grey had been presented with several of these homemade garments, and now had a respectable wardrobe that put her secondhand shirts and shorts to absolute shame. Ijane had said something about getting her some footwear, but since Grey was so grateful for the new clothes, she'd let that issue work itself out in its own time.

When she'd gotten dressed, Ijane set about the task of plaiting her hair to make more than a dozen small braids, reminiscent of the common style sported by most females, rather than the single one that had become the norm. It was a bit too much to do every day; but for such a special occasion, it was worth the effort.

"Not too bad, I should think; especially for such short notice." she said, as Grey pushed her hair back over her shoulders, extremely impressed by how quickly the former huntress had worked.

This being done, Ijane went to take a bath herself, and in a short time, returned wearing a dark plum-colored tank dress that billowed slightly around her as she walked, and what seemed to be a matching ribbon tying back her long plaited hair.

"Whoa…" Grey muttered, upon seeing her caretaker.

"Well, shall we go then?" the Yautja said, and Grey followed her out of the house and into the village, where several other females had apparently decided to welcome their leader home, as well. They all parted, however as Ijane passed by, probably in deference to the fact that she was the daughter of their Matriarch, and so was entitled to be the first to greet her upon her arrival.

As they proceeded up the main street, Grey saw, to no great surprise of hers, that they were heading for the largest dwelling in the village. It looked, more or less, like all the other houses; except this one was quite a bit bigger, made up of several domes connected together, and had a large banner with what the human assumed to be the Lakeshore Clan's symbol-every Yautja clan had its own mark-emblazoned in silver on a dark blue background.

When the pair reached the large double front doors, they were met by a young, pale green female with shoulder-length plaits, whom Grey guessed was a servant, who showed them inside immediately, while another female stayed outside to deal with the small crowd that had gathered there.

"We have been expecting you, Lady Ijane; your mother should arrive shortly." Grey heard the servant saying, as she showed them to a small side room with several floor cushions for guests to sit on while they waited.

Ijane and the servant talked quietly for a few minutes, until the younger Yautja was, presumably, dismissed, leaving Grey alone with her guardian, who began to pace the room.

"So… This is a pretty nice place the Matriarch's got here…" the human said, trying to ease the older female's tension a bit.

"Hm? This isn't my mother's house. I mean, her home is connected to this building; but it is only about the size of mine."

"Then why's it so big?" Grey asked.

"This building serves as a meeting place for the entire village; sort of a…what do your people call it…a town square. When an important event occurs, or the Matriarch has an announcement that she wishes to deliver to the village, they are summoned here." Ijane explained.

"How long do you think it'll be until she gets here?"

"About an hour, according to Ja'Nuri; she's the servant who met us at the door."

An hour. An hour was all that stood between Grey and her first encounter with the Matriarch… For the past ten days, she'd been wishing that time would go by faster so she could get this experience out of the way; but now, she wished more than anything that she could have some of that time back.

"Do you… Do you think I've learned enough? I mean, enough to talk with her the right way?" she asked.

"You've learned plenty, pup. Anyway, I'll go in alone to greet her first, as is proper, and tell her about you. I can let her know that you're still learning, and ask that she have patience when speaking with you." the purple-clad female said softly, which reassured her charge a lot more than she would've thought possible.

The next hour passed by fairly quickly, with Ijane giving Grey a few final etiquette tips and a brief review of what she'd learned so far of the Yautja language. Finally, the servant-Ja'Nuri-returned to the room and told Ijane that her mother had arrived, and wished to see her.

"Stay here, Grey. I'll go talk to my mother, and Ja'Nuri will come and get you when she's ready to see you." Ijane said, letting her hand rest briefly on top of Grey's head, before following the younger female out of the room, her deep plum dress swishing softly as she walked…


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer – Don't own AVP, just my guys and story ideas.**

 **Chapter 10**

Ijane followed Ja'Nuri through the short hallway that led from the side room into the Matriarch's actual home. She needed no guide, of course, having grown up here and played with her siblings in the large area usually reserved for clan meetings and announcements.

At last, they arrived at the door of the large room Matriarch Di'sedi used for holding smaller meetings, and Ja'Nuri bowed her inside.

Though her mother had been gone for less than a month, Ijane was struck, as she always was whenever the older female returned after a prolonged absence, of how beautiful her mother still was, even though she was now what Oomans called middle-aged. With her pale golden eyes, elegant mandibles, unusually light-brown hair, which she'd generally passed down to Ijane, intelligence, and aura of regality that surrounded her, it was no wonder that males still sought her out as a mate every season. She sat, as she always did, wearing the traditional pale blue robes of a Matriarch, on a large wooden sort of throne, with the Lakeshore Clan's mark carved into the back, and to her left, on a cushion in the floor, sat her eldest daughter, who had gone to the Great Temple with her mother.

Mjadi looked quite a bit different from her mother and sister; where they were very light brown with lighter splotches, her skin was a couple of shades darker, and had patches of black mottling here and there. Her hair came down below her shoulders, and was jet-black with many golden rings adorning it, and her eyes were a deep yellow-green. It was a bit unusual for their people, but both sisters had the same sire, and while many said that Ijane was the very image of her mother at her age, Mjadi almost completely resembled their father—though she still was considered extremely attractive.

Physically, anyway…

"Sit down, Ijane, and talk to your old mother." Di'sedi said, motioning her daughter over to take her place at her right side, which she did, making herself comfortable on the large cushion.

"Thank you, Mother. How was your journey this year?" Ijane asked. It was a well-known fact that the Lakeshore Clan's Matriarch went to the Great Temple every year, and had for quite some time.

"Very pleasant. High Priestess Anvodi asked about your absence, you know."

"Ah, I'll send a messenger bearing my apologies as soon as I can. I hope she didn't think I meant her any insult."

"No, no… She just wondered how you were doing, is all. She did express disappointment that you weren't there to dance during some of the ceremonies; you know she's been half-smitten with you ever since the first time we performed during the Ritual of Flame."

"She said it wasn't the same, with just Mother and I dancing." Mjadi added, a hard note in her voice.

"Was the journey hard on you, Mother?" Ijane asked.

"No more than usual. I'm not that old yet, my pup. Luckily, the weather was favorable. Still, I'm glad to be home." the Matriarch said, looking fondly at her daughter.

"As was I, until I heard some of the _rumors_ floating about! Ijane, do you know what everyone's _saying_ about you?" Mjadi asked her sister.

"Is it any different than what they've _been_ saying about me for all these years?" Ijane asked flatly.

"They're saying that you've got an _Ooman_ staying with you! Of course, when we heard that, I told them they _must_ be mistaken, but they _insisted_ it was the truth; they said it's been roaming loose around the village for over a week now, and that you've managed to teach it our tongue! Many of the females say they've spoken with it!" the darker female said incredulously, before her mother held up a hand for her daughter to be quiet, which was always hard for Mjadi, when she got going.

"I asked your friend Nuini, and she confirmed the rumors. She told me that a my grandson left a female Ooman pup with you some days ago, and you've been taking care of and teaching her ever since. Is there something you'd like to tell me, Ijane?" Di'sedi asked, cocking her head and clicking her ivory-colored tusks in regard of her younger daughter.

"Actually, yes." Ijane said, and proceeded to tell her mother and sister the full details-as much as she knew them-of Grey's time with the Bad Bloods, Kantra's encounter with and rescue of her, and how her son had brought the pup to her to raise and train until she was of proper age to begin her training as a huntress. All this time, her mother listened with patient curiosity, asking the occasional question, while Mjadi looked as though she desperately wanted to interrupt, but managed to control herself, somehow.

"So, you'd like to do as Kantra asked, and keep this pup to train?" the older female asked, at length.

"Scandalous! Absolutely scandalous! We'd be the laughingstocks of our race!" Mjadi huffed.

"I would, Mother. Grey has proven to be very respectful and intelligent. Physically, she's a bit frail, I'll admit; but with a bit of conditioning, I think I can get her up to scratch." Ijane continued.

"Nuini seems to be rather fond of her, as are all of the younger pups in the village. Many of the other females say she's been nothing but polite and quiet since they've met her." the Matriarch said.

"Kantra thinks she has great potential, once she's been properly trained and taught how to go about living among our people. He seemed excited, when he contacted me about her for the first time."

"Really? I haven't known Kantra to get excited about much of _anything_ since…" Di'sedi trailed off.

"Since he was ten." Ijane said quietly, her honey-colored eyes flicking momentarily to her sister, who looked like she was about to say something, but a warning growl from their mother brought their attention back to the subject at hand.

"Where is the pup now? I would like to speak with her, before I render any decisions." the elder female said, looking at her younger daughter.

"She's in the small side room, waiting to be called in to see you, Mother." Ijane said.

"I thought I smelled something _odd_." Mjadi muttered.

"Enough, Mjadi!" Di'sedi said sharply, and then turned to Ja'Nuri, who had been standing dutifully off to one side, waiting for a command from her superior.

"Please show the Ooman in, won't you?" she said, and the younger female hurried to her task.

"You said she speaks our language, didn't you?" the Matriarch asked her daughter.

"She does; but she's still learning. I will ask you to remember that, Mother, and that she's only a pup; please be patient with her if she has to take a moment to find the right words." Ijane said quietly, as the doors opened again, and Grey was gently led in by Ja'Nuri.

"Bit of a scrawny thing, isn't she?" Mjadi said quietly, looking at the thin female approaching them.

"You'd be thin, too, if you'd been chased all over the jungle by Bad Bloods who wouldn't give you enough time to eat anything." her sister replied, in an undertone.

"I'd like to talk to this pup alone, please. You may wait in the side room, until I've finished, and then I'll call you back to let you know what I've decided." their mother said, and both Yautja nodded and turned to leave, with Ijane putting a hand briefly on Grey's shoulder as she passed.

"You'll do fine, pup." she said quietly, before leaving the room with her sister, and went to sit in the side room, as she'd been instructed, with Mjadi following close behind.

"I can't believe you did that." Mjadi snapped, once they had entered the small side room and closed the door.

"Did what, _mei-jadhi_?" Ijane asked.

" _Not since he was ten."_ the darker female said, in an imitation of her sister's earlier words.

"Mother asked a question."

"She was musing to herself; but you couldn't resist an opportunity to bring that up, could you?"

"It was the truth, and you damn well know it, Mjadi."

"I told you back then, and a thousand times since, it was a _mistake_ ; a terrible, idiotic, cruel mistake! When will you stop holding it over my head, Ijane?"

"When my son can finally move on with his life. When he can look to the future, instead of the past, I will forgive you, Sister." Ijane said simply, and sat down on a cushion to look out the large window in the room that faced the lake, leaving Mjadi to lean against the other wall with her arms folded across her chest, and stared at her sister's back.

Grey watched as Ijane and the unknown, darker-toned female left the room, leaving her alone with the one she knew was the Lakeshore Clan's Matriarch, Di'sedi-her guardian's mother.

Even though she was still unclear on the exact standards of beauty for Yautja, she could tell that this female, whom Ijane greatly resembled, was probably considered at least a 9 out of 10 to others of her race. She was wearing a beautiful robe of what looked like pale blue silk, and like her daughter, adorned her hair with differently-colored bands of thread and various small trinkets.

"Come closer, pup." she said, and as Grey approached, she wondered if it had been a good idea for her to pick up where Ijane had left off pacing back and forth in the side room, as she was sure she'd worked up at least a bit of a sweat, and by this time knew how good a Yautja's sense of smell was, and wished she'd thought to pup into the bathroom before she'd left the group home and grab a couple of sticks of deodorant.

"There's no need for you to be nervous; sit here and talk with me awhile." the light-skinned female said, in an encouraging way, and the human did as she was told, kneeling on a cushion in front of the Matriarch, as she had done in her Sensei's classes a thousand times before.

"As I'm sure my daughter has already told you, I am the Matriarch of this clan. My name is Di'sedi; and you?" she asked.

"I'm Grey, Matriarch." the human answered quietly, making sure to keep her eyes on the floor. She only had one chance to make a first impression, and she didn't want to embarrass Ijane and Kantra by screwing up a simple conversation.

"Grey what?" the other female asked, cocking her head.

"Excuse me?"

"Isn't it usual for Oomans to have at least two names? I think you call it a surname or family name, if I remember what Ijane told me about your people. It always seemed a bit silly to me; but there it is. Is Grey your given name or your family name?" she asked.

"Grey's my last name, Ma'am."

"And your given name?" she inquired gently.

"Forgive me, Matriarch, but I prefer to go by my family name. I mean no disrespect, of course…" Grey said tentatively.

"That decision is up to you, pup… In any case, there are more important matters up for discussion at present." Di'sedi said, and Grey almost heaved a sigh of relief that the subject would be dropped.

"Ijane tells me," she began, straightening her pale blue robes, "that my grandson Kantra witnessed your defeat of a Bad Blood?"

"Um, yeah… There were three of them hunting me, actually. They took me and a bunch of other people from Earth and put us on this other planet. I was the only one left, by the time Kantra-Arbitrator Kantra-showed up and killed the other two. I haven't seen anymore like those guys since I got off that planet, though…" Grey said, though it took her a few minutes to say it all correctly.

"You wouldn't have; they've been banished from the Homeworld for at least five generations."

"Are they all like the three who were hunting me, then? I mean are they all Bad Bloods?" the human asked. It was a question she'd been pondering for quite some time.

"That…I cannot say; though it is certain that all the ones encountered so far have been."

"They look different." she said.

 _But then again, Kantra…_

"They are a different breed, you might say. Their numbers are quite small, compared to the rest of us; but significant enough to cause problems every now and again. I do not wish to speak of them, however; and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone around here who does. If you wish to know about their ilk-though I don't know why you would-you might ask one of the hunters who will assuredly arrive with the next breeding season; though I daresay his mind will be on other matters." Di'sedi said, and chuckled at her own innuendo.

"Anyway, after Kantra took you from the Bad Bloods' hunting planet, he brought you to Ijane?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Well, he took me to the Blood Moon Clan's Mother Ship for a few days; I was about half-dead from exposure and starvation at that point. For awhile, I wasn't really sure what I'd do; but once I'd found out that the Bad Bloods who took me had killed my Sensei, I didn't really have anything to go back to on Earth, and since the Arbitrator had already asked if I wanted to stay, I thought it might be better for me here. It wasn't until then that Arbitrator Kantra told me I'd have to stay with Ijane, until I was old enough to even be considered an Unblooded."

"And Ijane agreed to take you in?"

"Yes, Ma'am. She's been really good to me, and I like living with her here. I was kind of worried though, that she might get in trouble having me here without asking you first…" Grey said.

"Because of the circumstances, and my absence, I don't think there was any other option for Kantra but to bring you here. Several of the other females have told me that they don't mind your presence; and their pups have taken a great liking to you."

"So I've heard." the human said, smiling slightly.

"Tell me, pup; what are your plans? What will you do here? What will you do once you leave?" the older female asked, making herself more comfortable in her oversized throne.

"I guess I'll train with Ijane, and then go off with the other Unblooded when the time comes. Then I'll go on my Chiva and join the Blood Moon Clan, if they want me, and hunt with them. That's the plan Arbitrator Kantra had laid out for me; and it sounds pretty reasonable." Grey said.

"Then you plan on pursuing the path of the huntress? Are you sure that is what you wish to do?"

"That's what Arbitrator Kantra brought me here for; he seems to think I'll make it in that life. To be honest, I don't think he'd have bothered taking me with him at all if he didn't think I could hack it with Blood Moon."

"If you managed to kill a Bad Blood, I doubt he would have left you to die there. I'm sure he would have taken you back to Earth; you'd earned at least that much."

"Maybe, but he seemed pretty set on making me a huntress… I owe him my life, you know; I'd have died there, that day, if he hadn't taken me with him. Plus, I know he's risking a lot, doing all this for me. I don't want him to end up looking like a fool, or anything. The same goes for Ijane; I know it's asking a lot of her to look after me for so long." Grey admitted.

"You show great honor, Ooman; I can see why my grandson would hold you to such high standards. For him to have given you over to the care of his mother, when he… Well, I think I've heard all I need to in order to make a decision." Di'sedi said, and nodded to Ja'Nuri, who left the room, presumably to get Ijane.

"Oh, if you don't mind me asking, Matriarch: who was the other female who left with Ijane? I haven't seen her around before today." the human said.

"She is my eldest daughter, Mjadi. Frankly, I would tread lightly around her, were I you; she can be a bit…temperamental." Di'sedi said carefully.

A moment later, both Ijane and her sister came back into the room, a decidedly flustered air about them, and Grey wondered if they had, perhaps, been arguing before the servant Ja'Nuri had retrieved them; she had sensed a bit of tension between the two as they had left earlier…

The two females sat on either side of their mother, who cleared her throat before speaking.

"After speaking with the pup, I have decided that there should be no harm in allowing her to remain here until she is of age, after which, she may stay or go as she chooses. Until then, Ijane, you will be entirely responsible for her upbringing; including any trouble she may cause. In this capacity, I declare you to be her mother; and as such, will fulfill all the responsibilities that the title demands. This pup is, from now on, _your_ pup; the same as if she came from your womb. It is your duty, henceforth, to provide her with food, and a home, and to educate her in our customs and laws so that she becomes, as much as possible, as much a Yautja as any natural-born member of our race. It will fall upon you to act in her best interest, and to appropriately punish any wrongdoings on her part." the older female declared, and Grey heard Ijane begin to rumble softly again as she turned to look at the human.

"You can't be _serious_ , Mother! You're talking about practically allowing an Ooman into our _family_!" Mjadi said, glaring furiously at Grey as though she'd just given her the finger or something.

"Hush, Mjadi! I see no reason why this little one should be turned away; she has caused no harm, and so no harm will be done to her!" Di'sedi said, then turned to Grey.

"Let it be known, pup, that from now on, your honor is Ijane's honor, and your shame is hers as well. Any wrongs you commit will reflect on her, me, and the Lakeshore Clan. You should know that I do not take kindly to anything that causes distress to my children; and that will include you, if you upset Ijane."

"But she's upsetting _me_!" Mjadi protested loudly, still glaring at Grey.

"Something's always upsetting you, Sister." Ijane said quietly, and Grey had to bite her lower lip hard in order not to giggle. Di'sedi gave her daughters a warning look, before speaking again.

"This child has done nothing to you, Mjadi; and I expect you to return the favor. You should be off, anyway; you've your own pup to look after." she said, and, seeing that there was no point in arguing her case further, the other female rose and left the room in a huff, giving a small snarl as she passed by the newest member of her clan.

"From on, Grey, Ijane will be considered by all in this clan to be your mother, do you understand?" the Matriarch asked, in a somewhat softer tone.

"I… I think so…yes…" Grey said .That was the absolute last outcome she'd expected from this meeting, and she was stunned by it; Ijane, however, was still making that odd purring noise.

"Thank you, Mother…" she said, giving the older female on the throne a meaningful look, which she returned, making the human feel a bit awkward, and wonder what circumstances in their past had led to such a gaze.

Di'sedi then excused them, with Ijane promising to come back and have dinner with her the next evening, which seemed to please the older female a great deal.

"So… Your sister seems friendly…" Grey said, once they were back in Ijane's house and sitting on the cushions in the common room, each eating a huge piece of the meat the Yautja had prepared the day before. She'd really wanted to say something other than _friendly_ ; but seeing as how she was Ijane's sister, decided against it.

"Mjadi is…complicated. As I said before; there are those among us who don't think of Oomans as anything other than prey or amusing animals; you'll have to get used to that, I'm afraid."

They went on eating their food, until Ijane spoke up again.

"I didn't ask her to do that, Grey." she said.

"Hm?" Grey said, through a mouthful of meat.

"I didn't ask my mother…to declare you my pup… I only asked that she let you stay with me; I would never presume to…" she trailed off, looking down at her plate.

"It's okay, Ijane; really." Grey said, upon swallowing her food and seeing how uncomfortable her guardian was.

"It gives you protection, is why she did it, I'm sure. Since you'll be regarded as my pup, you'll have the same degree of protection as any other pup. Anyone who tried to bring harm to you would face the same penalties as if I birthed you myself. It makes the most sense." she said quickly.

"Yeah, it makes sense." the younger female agreed, but deep down, knew that Di'sedi's decision meant a lot to Ijane.

"Of course, I don't expect you to think of me as…" she said, looking at Grey for a moment, then back to her plate.

"I know… It's cool…" Grey said, feeling the awkwardness level in the room crank up about ten notches.

" _Weird."_ she thought, tearing off a piece of meat and chewing it thoughtfully, _"I was just saying the other day how none of the foster parents wanted me for long, and today, I guess I got one who…does…"_

Yeah, life was weird like that.

"I was wondering, and you don't have to tell me if you don't wish it; what did my mother ask you about?" Ijane asked, after a few more awkward minutes.

"Well, we spent about five minutes on my name, and then I ended up telling her about the whole thing with the Bad Bloods and Kantra bringing me back to Blood Moon, and how he was hoping you could take care of me. Your mom seems pretty nice, overall."

"She can be, yes. What do you mean, five minutes on your name?"

"She just wanted to know if Grey was my first or last name. I told her it's my last, but that I prefer to be called by it, and she left it at that."

"I'd wondered the same thing, but I didn't want pry."

They continued to eat for awhile, until Grey spoke up again.

"It's Luna." she said, and Ijane looked curiously at her.

"My first name; it's Luna; it means moon. It was my mother's great-grandmother's name, I think. I haven't gone by my first name in a long time; people used to call me Looney Grey, because they thought my dad was crazy, and I'd end up going crazy too. Sensei called me Tsuki, sometimes; it means moon in Japanese, which was his native language, but there's no "L" sound in Japanese, and he sort of pronounced it "Runa", and everybody started calling me that, so he started calling me Tsuki, instead. Usually, he just called me Grey, like everybody else, though." she explained, and went back to eating.

"Luar-ke." Ijane said, after a few minutes.

"What?"

"It's the Yautja word for moon; Luar-ke." she said.

"I like that." Grey said, and heard that rumbling sound again as the two went back to eating.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer – I don't own AVP; just my characters and original stories.**

 **Wordlist:**

 **Luar-ke – Moon (Grey's name while staying with the Lakeshore Clan)**

 **Naxa – A type of Yautja fruit**

 **Kehrite – Training hall or dojo**

 **So'in – A name I made up for an immensely complex Yautja board game (also of my invention) that could best be described as a mix of chess, dominoes, trading card games, and D &D.**

 **Q'yon – The name of a creature I made up that resembles a cross between an antelope and kangaroo. A common prey animal of the Lakeshore Clan.**

 **Disclaimer – I don't own D I don't even own a D &D game.**

 **Chapter 11**

"Luar-ke! Luar-ke! Come inside! I've got dinner ready!"

The human looked down from the branch of the naxa tree in which she was sitting to see her Yautja foster mother, Ijane, staring up at her.

"Okay, I'll be down in a second!" she called back, and began nimbly descending the thick branches of the tree, until she was about four feet off the ground, at which point, she let herself drop, landing gracefully before her caretaker.

"Come along, pup; I don't want our meal to get cold." she said, and the two females walked across the soft green grass and back into Ijane's neatly-kept domed house.

Grey (now known all over the Lakeshore Clan's village by the Yautja name of Luar-ke) washed and dried her hands in the bathroom, pushed her long, thick black plait of hair back over her shoulders, and went back into the common room to sit on one of the large cushions in front of the low central table, onto which Ijane had placed two large bowls of a thick, meaty stew.

It had been three months since the Lakeshore Clan's Matriarch, Di'sedi, had given the okay for her to remain among them until she was considered the appropriate age to go off and train for her eventual life among the stars with the Thwei Luar-ke, or Blood Moon, hunting clan.

During this time, she learned more of Yautja culture, and was quickly mastering their language, which would be invaluable to her throughout her life with the extraterrestrial race of hunters.

She had also been, more or less, accepted by most of the females in the clan, save, perhaps, for Ijane's elder sister, Mjadi, who made it a point of complaining to anyone who'd listen that the Matriarch's decision was sure to bring untold ruin and shame to their clan.

Luckily, however, nobody really paid that much attention to Mjadi's complaints, which, as Grey had come to find out, concerned pretty much everything.

The other females had developed a sense of trust where the human was concerned, thanks mainly to Nuini, who had decided to be the first to come forward and welcome her into the Lakeshore Clan. She had even demonstrated her trust by asking the human, in front of several other females, including a shocked Mjadi, to look after her four pups while she went off hunting. Ijane had told her, once the pups had been taken home by their mother, that for her to be asked to care for another female's offspring indicated the highest level of trust among females of their race. Grey had thanked her with a huge basket of naxa fruit that she had picked, and a large platter of meat prepared by Ijane, who offered her thanks as well for helping her foster pup become more accepted among their clan. Sine then, Grey had become a regular babysitter of Nuini's brood, who were, like their mother, all easygoing and fairly quiet, and very easy to manage while their mother was away.

Now, whenever she walked through the village on an errand for Ijane or just wandered around when she had free time, the other females would call out greetings, or stop her to ask how she and her guardian were doing. Grey would sometimes ask if the others had heard any good stories of the hunting clans, but since females really only bothered with males during the breeding season, there was seldom any news from off-world.

"What were you doing up in the tree again, Luar-ke? You must've picked every naxa up there by now." Ijane said, coming to sit beside her with her own bowl of stew and looking at her charge with curiosity.

"Just keeping an eye out for Kantra." she replied casually, taking a long drink from her bowl.

Both Grey and Ijane had nearly yelped with excitement when, about three days previous, Ijane's son Kantra, an Arbitrator, had sent a message to his mother assuring his arrival sometime in the next few days. Since then, Ijane had talked nonstop about how happy she was that her only son was coming for a visit. From what she could gather from her caretaker and the other females in the village, such visits from male offspring were few and far between, but were always looked forward to by the hunters' mothers.

Grey was glad that she'd be seeing Kantra again. She was anxious to demonstrate what she'd learned from Ijane so far, and to converse with him in his own tongue, which was sure to please him, Ijane had told her.

"You're really looking forward to his arrival, aren't you, pup?" Ijane asked, with what the human now knew to be her people's version of a smile.

Grey nodded, and took another long drink of Ijane's wonderful stew.

"Not as much as you are, though, am I right?" she said, after wiping her mouth with a cloth napkin.

"I can't deny it." the older female replied softly.

Though Grey knew that Ijane was immensely proud of her son, whom she had said was the youngest Arbitrator of their time, she was anxious, also. The human had come to find out that every female who was the mother of a hunter or huntress carried with them at all times an anxiety that, at any time, they would receive a message from their child's clan, informing them of the demise of their offspring, whether falling during a Hunt, losing a death-match, or any number of other ways that were unfortunate hazards of the hunters' lifestyle. Whenever one of these messages was received, the entire village would hear the anguished howl of the surviving members of the family, and rush to their home to find out what had happened and offer their condolences and prayers.

Thankfully Grey had only witnessed one such event, when the brother of a female a few houses down had been killed by a Hard Meat while attempting to capture a Queen with his clan. She and Ijane had rushed over to where a crowd was already gathering, to see the bereaved sister fall to her knees, while several other females rushed forward to comfort her and take her back inside. Later that night, everyone in the village who was related to a hunter of any rank offered up prayers to the Yautja gods, expressing their hope of a good afterlife for the deceased, comfort for their family, protection for their own kin, and silent thanks that it wasn't one of their own who had died.

But this was no time to be thinking of such grim things. Kantra's return was cause for celebration, as far as the occupants of this house were concerned, and they both awaited the arrival of the Arbitrator with great eagerness.

After the food was eaten and the dishes washed, Ijane and Grey sat on the cushions while the Yautja again went over the Code of Honor and general etiquette for living among hunters. Though Grey had said that she knew these things backwards and forwards by now, Ijane had told her that these rules, passed down through the millennia, governed every aspect of life for their people, not just the Hunt. There was, she had explained, no worse offense than breaking the Code; save for falsely accusing another of doing so.

"And when hunting for food?" Ijane was asking, as Grey braided some long strips of leather for use in making herself a new belt.

"Only the weakest animals should be taken for food." She replied.

"And why is that?"

"It makes the species' line stronger."

"Very good. Now, when addressing a higher-ranked individual?"

"Eyes to the floor, head bowed, speak only when spoken to, and give short, clear answers when asked a question, unless asked to explain further."

"And?"

"Absolutely no sarcasm or mouthing off."

"Excellent. Now, regarding–" Ijane began, but was interrupted by her home's communication center, which began beeping, letting her know she had an incoming message.

Rising, she went over and began reading the words on the screen, and in a couple of minutes, let out a small roar, which immediately drew Grey's attention.

"Kantra's coming!" Ijane said excitedly, and Grey dropped her leather in surprise.

"What? You're messing with me, right?" she said.

"No! He's on his way now; he only entered the planet's atmosphere a few minutes ago!" she said, hurriedly straightening the cushions and using her fingers to smooth out any tangles in her long, light brown plaits.

Grey couldn't believe it; they'd only just been talking about the Arbitrator, and he'd been on his way the entire time!

"I wish I'd have known about this earlier; I could have prepared something better than stew for him…" the light brown female was muttering, as she busied herself around the common room, looking for things to straighten or clean.

"Your stew's awesome; don't worry about that." Grey reassured her, slipping on the thick leather sandals that Ijane had made for her in preparation to go outside and meet Kantra when his ship landed; an idea that the Yautja caught onto immediately.

As they hurried to the edge of the large clearing in which the Lakeshore Clan's village sat, they were just in time to see Kantra's ship descend from the cloudless green sky, and touch down silently in front of them, the door opening and boarding ramp descending soon after.

A moment later, Kantra appeared in the doorway, dressed in a simple dark green vest made out of some kind of hide and what could only be described as loose brown shorts, with a thick black leather belt, though he didn't appear to be carrying any weapons at the moment.

"Mother…" he said, as he approached Ijane.

"Welcome back, pup." she replied, looking at her son the way only a mother could.

"Mother, I am an Arbitrator now…" Kantra said, a bit sheepishly.

"But you'll always be my pup, Kantra." the female said, making the rumbling sound that Grey knew by now was a Yautja's way of displaying great pleasure or contentment, which Kantra added to for a moment with his own deep purr, before noticing Grey standing there.

"How has the pup been doing, Mother? Not causing you any trouble, I hope?" he asked, staring at the human with his dark crimson eyes.

"Of course not! She's as respectful and intelligent as you said; and helpful, as well! We've been getting along wonderfully." Ijane said.

"Very good. I had hoped for such an outcome. How is she getting along with the rest of the clan?"

"Pretty damn well, now that she can speak _and understand_ Yautja." Grey said, making the Arbitrator's eyes go wide in surprise.

"Language, pup!" her caretaker said, surprised. Though Grey had managed to curb her swearing around Ijane, she knew full well from their time together that Kantra was well aware of this habit.

Kantra clattered with laughter, however.

"I had not expected you to learn so quickly, Grey! I confess myself impressed by your progress." he said.

"Ijane's been working with me every day on it; I don't even need the translator anymore, to tell the truth." the human said.

"That is unfortunate, because Kwei has been working on this for quite some time." Kantra replied, pulling from a pouch on his belt what looked like a large smartphone, and handing it to Grey.

"What's that?" Ijane asked, cocking her head as she looked at the device the human was holding.

"According to Kwei, this device is a thousand times better than the one he made you before, Grey. He has added several dozen Ooman languages, as well as a number of other features. I cannot remember half the things it is supposed to do, but one of them is that it can receive messages from both clan and personal ships, which the original one apparently was not powerful enough to do. Now you will be able to contact me, if you wish it; as well as Kwei, to ask him how to work the infernal thing. He seemed most eager to speak with you on its workings." he explained.

"Sweet…" Grey said, carefully putting the device in her pocket for further study later on.

"Elder Yeyinde also wishes to know of your progress; I believe he was quite intrigued by you, following your initial meeting with him. He has assured me that, when the time comes, you will be accepted as a candidate to join our clan."

"Very nice. I'll message him later, and see how he's doing, if he's not too busy. He seemed pretty cool."

"Kantra, have you eaten yet?" Ijane asked, looking appraisingly at her son.

"Well, no, Mother, I have not…" Kantra replied quietly.

"Then come inside and have some dinner; I doubt you get to eat anything very substantial while you're going around chasing Bad Bloods." she said, eyeing her son as though daring him to protest or refuse.

"Yes, Mother." he said.

"Come along, Luar-ke." she said, and her son looked around to see to whom his mother was speaking.

"It's what I go by here. I'll fill you in while you eat." Grey said, and the three made their way back to Ijane's house.

 _Later…_

"So, Grandmother made you her mother?" Kantra asked, as Grey took his bowl into the kitchen to wash it, returning a few minutes later with a drinking bowl of C'ntlip for him and one of water for Ijane.

"Yes. Neither of us could believe it, at first; but once I began to think about it, it made complete sense." his mother replied, accepting her water from Grey, who sat down on a cushion opposite them.

"How did Aunt Mjadi take it?" he asked.

"Oh, she was _thrilled_." the light-skinned female said, with a sarcastic smile, making Grey laugh, but then she seemed to realize something that made her grey eyes go wide.

"Hey, I just thought of something; if Ijane's my mother now, that kind of makes you my big brother, Kantra!" she said, looking at the Arbitrator, who choked on the drink of C'ntlip he'd just taken.

"W-what?" he said, looking at the Ooman, who had a wide grin on her face.

"Now that I think about it…" Ijane said, looking at the pair of them.

"So, now I guess we've got to fight over which one of us is the favorite, huh?" Grey said, to rapid clicks of laughter from the other female.

"Speaking of fighting," Kantra said loudly, clearly uncomfortable with where this conversation had gone, "I expect a demonstration of what you have learned from my mother so far, Grey. I did not leave you here to wash dishes and prepare meals."

"Luar-ke's training has been going quite smoothly. She has proven to be an apt pupil with great potential, just as you predicted." Ijane said, with no small amount of pride in her voice as she looked at her human "pup".

"I should hope so. I would hate to find out that after all this time, she has made no progress, and everything up to this point has been a tremendous waste of my time."

" _Your_ time? Sorry, Kantra; but your mom's been the one taking care of my skinny a-I mean, me…" Grey said, catching herself before she swore.

"And it's been quite pleasant to have you around." the former huntress said firmly, rising to get herself another bowl of water.

"Well, pleasant or not, I took you from the Bad Bloods' planet with the expectation that you would prove to be a great asset to the Thwei Luar-ke Clan in the future." he said seriously.

"I know, and I'm training hard every day with Ijane."

"That is good; but perhaps you should venture into the smaller clearing in the forest from time to time. The young males of this clan have a makeshift kehrite there, you know. It may be beneficial for you to learn how to get along with Yautja males, since a great portion of your time will be spent among them, once you are of age."

"I don't know… I was never really good around other kids on Earth; I don't figure it'll be any different here." the human said, shaking her head.

"Well, just consider it. You should not be wasting so much time frolicking with pups and picking fruit." he said sternly.

"Ijane, big brother's being mean to me! Make him stop!" Grey called over her shoulder, relishing the clicks of laughter from the kitchen and the look of discomfort and awkwardness on Kantra's face as he drained his bowl.

They talked for a couple of hours, with Kantra informing them that after he'd left Grey with Ijane, he'd had to deal with two more Bad Bloods that month; one who had been caught trying to cheat during a Hunt by passing off the skull of a long-dead beast as his own kill, for which he was sentenced to life as an exile on a wasteland planet, and another whose incompetence while leading several Young Bloods on their Chiva had nearly gotten all of them killed. For this, he was dismissed from his clan, and would have to take his own Chiva all over again, if he wished to join another; if another clan would even have him.

"I was also asked to track down a hunter who had been banished for several years, and bring him back into society." he had said.

"That happens?" Grey had asked.

"If one commits a crime for which death is too great a sentence, and accepts their punishment, they may be banished for a time, and allowed to rejoin our ranks once their time has been served, if they survive their sentence. Once they return, their crime is forgiven, but they must start over as Unblooded, and do everything over again."

"Remind me to never become a Bad Blood…" she muttered.

Finally, both the suns went down, and Ijane declared that if Grey was going to demonstrate her skills the next day, she'd need a good night's sleep.

"Kantra, where are you going?" Ijane asked, noticing that her son had begun heading toward the front door.

"I was planning to sleep on my ship, Mother." he replied.

"Nonsense! I'll not have you going all that way and back, when you can sleep in the common room." she said.

"I'll take the living room tonight, Ijane; Kantra can sleep in here." Grey said, coming out of her room dressed in one of the huge t-shirts Ijane had made for her using one of her old ones as a pattern when it had become too ragged for any further use.

"I would not presume to take your bedroom, Grey." Kantra said.

"It was your room first, big brother." she said, winking at him as she carried her thin blanket into the common room and made herself comfortable on the cushions.

He looked like he was about to say something in reply, but gave up when he saw his mother re-enter the room, and went into the other bedroom after bidding her good night.

"Good night, my pups." Grey heard Ijane say quietly, before going to her own room.

They all awoke and ate breakfast before First Sunrise the next morning, and Grey and Ijane changed into their training attire, while Kantra went out back to wait for them.

Though Ijane's house wasn't big enough for an entire room to be dedicated to training, the former huntress had created her own private kehrite in her backyard, consisting of a large area of hard-packed earth where she could keep her formidable skills sharp.

Grey remembered, as she changed into the thick leather top and shorts that served as her training outfit, the first day she'd begun training with Ijane.

It had been a couple of days after the human had met with the clan's Matriarch, and her caretaker had declared that it was finally time for her training to begin. Grey, who had donned her _gi_ and black belt and was standing out in the middle of the training ground, had to work hard not to let her jaw drop when she saw Ijane approaching her from the side of the house, her hair tied back with a leather cord and carrying her mask under one arm.

It was the first time she'd ever seen the Yautja in her training gear, and even though she wasn't wearing her full awu'asa, she was no less impressive in the leather sort of corset top and tight shorts that she wore when training. As Grey wondered, with a tinge of jealousy, how in the hell she'd managed to coax the twins into that top, Ijane had announced her intention to assess the human's combat skills, and then take her training from there.

She had done this by rushing at the human, trying to land a hit as Grey furiously attempted to block as many of her attacks as possible, though many of them got through. At the end of five minutes, the human had, before lapsing into unconsciousness, stumbled over to one corner of the kehrite and proceeded to vomit up the two naxa fruits she'd eaten for breakfast, and a concerned Ijane had concluded, after making the younger female take a cool bath and lie down, that Grey had suffered an episode of heatstroke, due to the fact that humans weren't used to such conditions as were found on the Yautja Homeworld.

From then on, Grey and Ijane had their training sessions in the early morning, before either of the suns had risen, when the temperature was much cooler. There had been no incidents since then.

Now, the three of them gathered in the kehrite, as the small moon shone above, so that Grey could show Kantra what his mother had taught her so far.

"Are you ready, pup?" Ijane asked, putting on her mask and getting into a stance.

"Ready." Grey replied, getting into a stance of her own.

What followed was about an hour's worth of demonstration, in which Ijane put her through her paces; stances, holds, blocks, hits, dodges… Everything that she'd been taught so far, she showed the Arbitrator, who, by the end of it, seemed decidedly pleased by what he'd seen.

"Impressive. Your progress pleases me, Grey; and Mother, I must say, you have lost none of your skills." he said, as Ijane removed her mask and walked over to her son.

"Of course I haven't; I worked too hard to let it all go to waste." she replied.

"Have you taken Grey hunting with you yet? A bit of real-life experience with prey would serve her well."

"I haven't; I don't think she's ready for that just yet." the female said.

"You cannot be worried she will balk at the sight of prey being killed, after what she has seen…"

"No; but she has no experience in the forest, and we have not begun training with weapons yet."

"She lived in the Bad Bloods' jungle for nearly a month." Kantra pointed out.

"Actually, I was chased _through_ the Bad Bloods' jungle, thank you." Grey said, walking past the pair of them with a broom to sweep the kehrite clean, as was done before and after every use.

"She should learn tracking and stalking as soon as possible. She can come along and watch you the first few times; she does not have to join in yet." the Arbitrator offered.

"I suppose…" Ijane said, sounding thoughtful.

"Besides, she should know where her food comes from, if she is to fend for herself later on; if she can eat it, she can kill it."

"All right, Kantra, you win. I'll take her with me when I go out tomorrow morning."

"And I will accompany the both of you." he announced.

"You're coming hunting with us?" Grey asked, as she finished sweeping and returned the broom to its peg on the wall at the back of the house, before coming over to stand with the pair.

"Only to supervise you, Grey; and to help carry home my mother's kill." Kantra informed her.

"Tomorrow morning, I'll take you with me when I go hunting. It's time you started learning how to track and kill your own prey." Ijane said.

"I understand." Grey said, nodding. She knew she'd have to learn these skills eventually, and Ijane had been talking about taking her along on one of her food-hunting trips awhile now, though she hadn't done much more than talk, until this point. Secretly, Grey wondered if it was perhaps maternal instinct, rather than faith in the human's abilities, that had made her caretaker wait so long…

As Kantra sat outside later that day, running a systems check of his wrist comp and mask, he couldn't help but look forward to seeing how Grey would fare when she accompanied his mother into the dense Yautja forest the next morning. Though he had told both females that he was only going along to supervise, he resolved that he would jump in and lend a hand, should things become too dangerous; though he almost laughed at the idea of Ijane needing any help with the creatures his maternal clan commonly hunted for food.

In a way, he envied the young Ooman; she was going to see, for the first time, what Ijane could do in an actual combat situation…a true privilege.

He'd been glad to see how well Grey and his mother had gotten along. Ijane was taking care of the younger female as though she were her own pup, which meant that Grey would be cared for and protected, as well as trained in the ways of his people and the Hunt.

Grey seemed to have taken a liking to Ijane, as well; she dutifully followed the latter's instructions, helped her with whatever she needed, was respectful, and, according to his mother, was very pleasant overall.

It had been a great relief to find out that the pup had been so well-received among the other females, which had been one of Kantra's main worries ever since he'd contacted his mother about taking her in. he'd been surprised to see her walking about, followed by every pup in the village under twelve seasons of age, and occasionally called over by a female, who inquired about her caretaker or asked that she deliver a message to her.

"She's doing well here, isn't she?"

Kantra nearly jumped in surprise, and turned to see his mother coming out of the house to lean against the same tree as her son, and watch as Grey descended a naxa tree with a bag of the large red fruit slung across her back, to the cheers of the younger pups, and began distributing the contents among the group, who sat down in the shade of the tree to enjoy the treat.

"Indeed. I knew I was making the right choice, leaving her with you, mother; though I was sorry to leave you with such a burden." the Arbitrator replied, closing his wrist comp to give her his full attention.

"She hasn't been a burden, Kantra; not in the slightest. Even your grandmother has taken to her, you know."

"Truly?"

"She goes to see her in the evenings after dinner, and the two talk and play So'in until it's late and I have to go over there and bring Luar-ke home."

Kantra knew that So'in was the frustratingly-complicated game that was mainly played by higher-ranked individuals, such as Elders and Ancients, who by that age would have a bit more time to enjoy such things, as they didn't need to hunt too much anymore. Females enjoyed it as well, since even with their duties taking care of their pups and homes, they still far more free time than males, and liked to use it as an excuse to get together, have a bit of C'ntlip, and chat for prolonged periods.

"And…what of my aunt?" Kantra asked, knowing that the subject of his mother's sister was a touchy one for her, at best.

"She hasn't made trouble, aside from complaining; but that's nothing new." Ijane said, with an edge to her voice.

"She hasn't said anything about…?"

"Not that I'm aware; and I warned her about it the moment I was able to get her alone. Everyone else in the village knows by now that it's a private matter, so I don't think they'd intentionally tell her; and none of the pups know, either." she said.

"Then that just leaves the rest of our people…" the male said quietly, and the pair turned to watch Grey and the pups.

"I want you to tell her, Mother." he said, after awhile.

"What?" she exclaimed, sounding shocked by her son's statement.

"You should be the one to tell her. I think it would be better coming from you, rather than her hearing it…secondhand."

"I can see that, yes… But _now_?" she asked.

"No; but I trust your judgment, Mother. When the time comes, you may tell her." he said, and turned to go back inside.

"Oh, my Kantra…my pup…" Ijane sighed, as she watched her son.

Grey was awakened earlier than usual the next morning by Kantra, who had apparently made a trip back to his ship to retrieve his wristblades, sword and a couple of knives.

"Change into your training clothes, and meet me out back." he said simply, and left through the house's back door.

Grey did as she was told, and went to her room to put on her leather training outfit, before joining Kantra outside in the kehrite, wondering all the while where Ijane had gone.

She got her answer when the female came out of the house a few minutes later, dressed in something that looked like her usual training attire, but was made of thicker leather, and included her own set of wristblades, wrist comp, sword, mask, and a knife strapped to each thigh.

Once, Grey had asked Ijane if she wore armor like Kantra when she went on these nighttime excursions, and the Yautja had replied patiently that her awu'asa, heating mesh and Plasmacaster, all of which she kept in her own room, would be a bit much for food-hunting, and would take away what little sport there was to be had.

"Are the two of you ready?" she asked, as she approached, and Grey noticed that she seemed to be carrying herself differently, now that she was in her hunting attire.

"I am." Kantra replied, and put on his mask, as his mother did the same.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Grey said, a bit nervously; talking about doing this and actually doing it were two different things entirely.

Ijane nodded, and the trio headed off in the direction of the forest that bordered the Lakeshore Clan's clearing on three sides.

Soon after she'd arrived, Ijane had told Grey that she wasn't to go into the forest alone; dangerous creatures unlike any on Earth lurked there, and she could easily become lost in the dense undergrowth. That was the part in a lot of stories, she knew, where the kid does exactly the opposite of the adult says, thinking they know better or can handle themselves, and gets into some kind of trouble, only to be rescued and learn a valuable lesson…or never heard from again, depending on the book. Luckily, Grey had more common sense than this, and had done exactly what Ijane had told her, and had stayed away from the forest entirely, save for when the two of them went to the edge to pick the large purple berries that grew there, and even then, Ijane had taken a dagger or two with her, just in case.

She was finding, the longer she lived among them, that life among the Yautja was, to no small extent, a series of opportunities in which to do some spectacularly dumb shit. How the hell half of those guys lived to even _take_ their Chiva was quickly becoming a mystery to her, from some of the stories Di'sedi, Ijane and the other females had told her about their pups and their own childhoods. It was a good opportunity, however, to learn exactly what _not_ to do.

Now, though, they were heading toward the forest, which looked truly menacing in the darkness, though Grey knew that Kantra and Ijane's masks meant they could see perfectly well. She'd just have to trust that they'd keep her on track, because she didn't have anything resembling a flashlight, and she'd been told that such a device would alert potential prey to their presence, anyway.

Luckily, her eyes were adjusting to the darkness, but even with the moon shining brightly overhead, the three of them had to stop here and there so she could pick her way around obstacles, lest she crash into trees or trip over logs and let half the planet know what they were up to out here.

She knew she was holding them back, as well; Yautja were incredibly skilled at climbing, and could jump into and move through the trees as well as any arboreal creature, but since Grey could barely get along on the ground at the moment, they had to stay earthbound as well, and so this excursion was probably going to take at least twice as long as it normally would have.

Her companions weren't complaining, though, and Ijane hung back a bit to make sure that she didn't get lost or too entangled in brambles and vines. Along the way, she was given advice on how to tell which way the prey was moving by looking at bent grass and twigs, and how to tell from tracks and animal waste how long it had been since the leaver had been there.

After about an hour of this, Ijane spotted some likely-looking game-a herd of reddish-brown creatures that looked a bit like a cross between antelope and kangaroos-grazing in a good-sized clearing, and motioned for the human to remain where she was, while Kantra jumped silently up into a nearby tree to watch the scene play out below him, and for just a moment, Grey was reminded of the times when the Bad Bloods would sit up in the trees, completely motionless, and observe their prey, but shook this image out of her head, and instead kept her attention on Ijane. The moon illuminated the clearing, making everything that was happening perfectly visible to the human, who couldn't take her eyes off her caretaker.

The female had left the pair, moving silently as a shadow through the tall grass on the edge of the clearing, getting nearer to the heard of antelope creatures and ever-so-slowly drawing a throwing knife from the sheath on her thigh. It was during this time that Grey was able to imagine Ijane as the Blooded huntress she had once been; going to strange worlds and taking trophies from the most dangerous beasts there…the same trophies that adorned the walls in the common room in which they spent so much time.

Slowly, she approached the herd, looking at each individual creature, until she saw the one she wanted; an old-looking one that, judging from the larger horns atop its head, was a male, and began to make her way toward it.

"Do you see the one she has chosen, Grey?" Kantra asked quietly, from the low branch on which he crouched.

"Yeah, the old one off to the side." Grey whispered back. It was a bit of a breezy night, and the rustling of the trees all around them would easily drown out their voices, which was probably the only reason Kantra had spoken at all.

"Do you know why?" he asked, and the human remembered that she and Ijane had been discussing this only two days before.

"He's old, he's probably done all the breeding and fighting he's going to do, and he'll slow the herd down. Still plenty of meat on him, though." she said, after a moment's thought.

"Exactly. My mother has taught you well."

They both went back to watching Ijane, who by this time was only about ten feet from the oldest beast, and had her knife aimed at her target, and even with her mask on, Grey knew that her gaze never left the prey; years of hunting had given her the experience to mentally drown out any distraction.

It happened in less than three seconds: Ijane let her knife fly, hitting the antelope-thing in the neck and killing it before it had time to feel any pain. The thud as it hit the ground drew the attention of the rest of the herd, and upon seeing the dead one, one of them raised the alarm with a kind of squealing cry, at which point they all rushed off into the forest, leaping nimbly through the underbrush, crying out in fear of the unseen attacker.

With no more reason to hide, Ijane stepped out of the grass and went over to collect her kill, motioning for her son and Grey to come join her. It only took Kantra one leap from the branch to land almost at his mother's side, but Grey had to jog several yards before she arrived at the site of the kill, where the female was retrieving her knife from the creature's neck.

"Impressive, Mother; time has not dulled your skills." Kantra was saying, looking down at the creature.

"Of course it hasn't." his mother said, and picked up the dead beast and slung it over her shoulders.

"Come along, Grey; it's time you learned how to dress game." she said, and the trio began to pick their way back through the forest in the direction of the village.

Back at Ijane's house, the creature, which Grey had been informed was called a _q'yon_ , was hung upside down on a rack a little away from the house and kehrite, and its throat slashed open wider to let the blood drain before the butchering could begin.

"I'll show you how to remove the hide, too." Ijane said, after washing her hands and removing her mask, before getting breakfast ready for the three of them.

"How long will it take for that thing to drain?" Grey asked, as she cut the large steak on her plate into pieces.

"For a q'yon that size, about half an hour, maybe less." Kantra said casually, eating a piece of his own raw steak.

Once the blood had drained, Ijane showed Grey how the skin was removed, with the assurance that she would show her how to prepare the hide for use on another day. Then the q'yon's innards and organs came out, and the creature was finally cut up into manageable pieces suitable for use in the kitchen. During the process, Grey was tasked with keeping the area clean, which meant that many buckets of water were used to wash away the blood and other things so they wouldn't collect and draw too much attention from insects or scavenging animals.

"If I can find something worthy enough, I'll show you how we take out the head and spine in one piece. That is the traditional means of taking a trophy." Ijane said, as they put the meat in the large, cold pantry with the other food that needed to be kept cool.

"I've already seen that…" the human said, remembering the many corpses she'd seen in the Bad Bloods' jungle, and the "live demonstration" Kantra had given her on the day of her rescue.

"I doubt she will be strong enough to do it in the traditional manner, Mother. She will likely end up having to simply remove the head by cutting." Kantra said.

"That is true; but she should know, nonetheless. Eventually, Grey, I expect you to be able to do this on your own." Ijane informed her.

"Will I go hunting in the forest on my own, too?" the human asked, looking down at her steak and fully realizing for the first time exactly how much work went into obtaining it.

"Not for anything that large; you couldn't carry it home. I think you'll do fine with smaller game, however; birds and things, and of course, gathering fruit and the like." the other female said.

"Wish I could have been a bigger help this time." Grey said.

"Your task was to watch and learn, not participate." the Arbitrator reminded her.

"Anyway, all the females in the village with pups your age have started taking them out to hunt with them, and they're all starting just as you are; by observing. Believe me, by time you and the others go off for your training, this will be second nature to you." Ijane said encouragingly.

"I started out this way, too." her son added.

"Then if they can do it, I can, too." Grey thought determinedly, and finished her food, before taking a bath, after which she was allowed to have a bath and return to the cushions of the common room for a little extra sleep.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer – I don't own AVP; just my guys and my own original story.**

 **Chapter 12**

Later that day, once Grey had woken up and had something to eat, Kantra had decided to see what she could do with weapons.

Even though she normally didn't train in the daytime, because the heat was too intense, since it was still quite early and cool, and she didn't want to seem too frail, she didn't protest.

"Now, I know Mother has focused on hand-to-hand techniques until now; but I wish to judge your proficiency in an open area, to get a basic idea of what you know, and we will go from there." Kantra said, handing her a long, straight stick to use as a practice weapon.

"You said she killed a Bad Blood with a sword." Ijane reminded him, as she watched the pair take their places at opposite ends of the kehrite. She had told him before they'd even began that if she thought it was getting too hot for Grey, the training session was over, and expected no arguments from either of them.

"That was sheer dumb luck, and the Bad Bloods' underestimation of his opponent. Anyone can cut something if they swing a sword around long enough; it takes skill to master a blade. You taught me that, Mother." he said, as Grey got into a stance and gripped her weapon as Kantra had showed her.

"What _exactly_ am I supposed to be doing?" the human asked, as Kantra pulled his real sword from its sheath on his back.

"All I wish you to do is try to land a hit on me. I will not be trying to attack you; just blocking your strikes. Now, come at me like you mean it!" he called back, readying himself.

Though the phrase "don't bring a knife to a gunfight" was running through her mind, Grey shrugged and rushed toward her opponent and proceeded to unleash a flurry of strikes.

"You have certainly gotten stronger." the Arbitrator said, though he managed to effortlessly block every blow that came his way.

"Look for an opening, pup; wait for your chance, and _then_ strike!" Ijane called.

Hearing this, Grey watched carefully as she continued her attempts to land a hit, waiting for the opportunity to slip by the dark-skinned male's defenses. As he blocked another hit, she saw her chance: he'd left his right shoulder unguarded, and raised the stick to take advantage of the opening…

Only to be surprised when Kantra crouched low at the last possible second and used one long leg in a sweep to try and unbalance her. Grey only managed to jump over the limb, only to jump back up…just in time to have the Arbitrator give her a light-or so he seemed to think-rap on the top of the head with the flat of his blade, which resulted in her crouched on the ground, eyes watering and swearing, as she rubbed the spot where he'd made contact.

"Kantra!" Ijane snapped, hurrying over to examine her charge for injuries.

"What the hell, man?" Grey shouted, once Ijane had determined that she wasn't bleeding, but would have a fantastic knot later on.

"As Mother said; wait for an opening. I allowed you to think I had dropped my guard, so you would attempt to strike me and drop yours. I must admit that your reflexes when I attempted to knock you down were impressive, however. Well done." Kantra said simply.

"I'll give you "well done", asshole…" Grey muttered, picking up her stick and resuming her stance.

"Another round? Very well; I am pleased with your tenacity." he said, taking his own stance and motioning for her to begin.

Grey began as she had before, with a series of strikes, and as before, saw a nice opening. However, she felt prepared for Kantra's ruse this time, and pretended to try and land a blow, and again jumped over the Yautja's sweeping leg. Clearly, he thought she was going to attempt the same strategy twice.

This time when she came up, however, she held the stick with two hands to block the other's weapon as he brought it down, which resulted in two things happening.

First, the force of the impact was enough to break the stick cleanly in two. Second, because of the first result, Kantra did manage to land a hit on her, in the same spot, which resulted in a great amount of pain for the human; but she didn't let herself fall to the ground this time, though her eyes had started watering again.

"Now your weapon is useless, and you are at my mercy, Ooman." the male said.

Injured, but not defeated, and seeing a true opportunity, Grey swiftly used one of the broken halves of the stick in a downward stroke…to land a perfect hit right in the middle of Kantra's forehead.

"Even a broken blade can still hold an edge." she panted, still holding both halves of her weapon.

"Excellent! Had you been using a _real_ weapon, that would likely have been a killing blow!" he said, sounding truly impressed as he rubbed the point of impact, and Grey could already tell that he'd have his own knot there tomorrow.

"That was a superb move, Grey! Even I wouldn't have thought of that!" Ijane said, giving her a Yautja smile as she came over and applied a cooling pack to the top of the human's head, which by this point was bleeding a little.

"That is the kind of quick thinking you will need when you join the other hunters. Even if you had been mortally wounded, you would have preserved your honor by taking me with you to meet the Black Warrior. You are thinking like a Yautja, Grey." Kantra said, and the human smiled at the compliment.

The next afternoon, Kantra received a message from a hunting clan on a nearby planet, asking for any available Arbitrators to come and supervise a ritual Hunt taking place there, and as it was his duty to do such things, he was forced to cut his visit short.

"Must you leave so early, Kantra?" Ijane asked, handing him a large sack of various fruit, vegetables and fresh q'yon meat as they stood before his waiting ship.

"Indeed, Mother; this is an important Hunt for that clan; they need me to help make sure everything goes according to tradition." he replied, accepting the bag and a brief embrace from his mother.

"Is it a Chiva?" Grey inquired curiously.

"No; this Hunt is more ceremonial than anything. Still, I must be the one to go; there are no other Arbitrators in the vicinity who are not currently busy with other things. As such, I must bid you goodbye, for now; but I will return when time permits, and I will expect more progress from you, Grey." he said, with a serious look at the human, who nodded in reply.

With this, he again embraced his mother, before boarding the ship, which took off a few moments later, and disappeared out of sight in the sky soon after.

"I'm glad he's doing okay out there." Grey said, as the two walked back to Ijane's house.

"As am I. It was so good to see him, though; it's so rare that a mother gets to see her grown pups…the males, anyway." the Yautja said wishfully.

Grey got the feeling that Ijane wanted some quiet time to think, and since Kantra had suggested it, decided to make her first visit to the male's makeshift training ground in the scrubby part of the forest a bit beyond the Matriarch's dwelling.

"Are you sure you'll be all right, going there on your own?" Ijane asked, still sounding slightly depressed by her son's departure, which was the precise reason why Grey was going in the first place.

"I'll be okay. Kantra told me there's a path behind your mom's place that leads right to where the males train, so I won't have to worry about getting lost." she assured her, as she came out of her room wearing her leather training attire.

"Path or no, I want you home before dark. Is that understood?" she said, and Grey knew she was serious.

"Yes, ma'am." the human nodded, and headed out the door.

The forest here wasn't nearly as dense as the one in which Ijane and the other females usually hunted; but even so, the "path" Kantra had mentioned was really more of a trail, made by generations of young male Yautja going back and forth from the village to the training ground. Luckily, it was plenty wide and visible enough for the human to follow with little trouble, and she knew she heading in the right direction when she began to hear faint growls and roars coming from up ahead.

As she drew nearer, she saw that the young males' training ground was basically the same as Ijane's; a large patch of bare, packed earth, where opponents could show their skills while the others kept to the sidelines.

Even though she'd lived with the Lakeshore Clan for three months now, she had rarely seen the adolescent males, who apparently left to come to this place early in the morning and returned shortly before Second Sunset in the evening. On the few occasions she had seen them, the extent of their interaction had been a curious look or a slight nod of the head, and that had been it.

"For the most part, hunters have little interaction with female Oomans. They can be seen as prey if they prove worthy opponents; but since most of your cultures tend to discourage females from combat, this is rare. To put it bluntly, they don't find you interesting; you'll have to prove yourself worthy to even get their attention." Ijane had explained, when Grey had brought up the males' ignoring of her presence in the village. The young females, on the other hand, were fairly curious and polite, since Grey would likely never be seen as competition for honorable males, since the vast majority-though not all, according to Ijane-of Yautja males held no sexual interest in her species whatsoever. She presented no threat, current or future, to them, and so was occasionally invited to join them for awhile as they sat around on the shores of the lake and talked about pretty much everything, once their chores had been done.

She was just about to exit the path and enter the area, when a slight breeze picked up, and she supposed it must have carried her scent to them, because a moment later, about eight young male Yautja came to meet her as she stepped into the clearing for the first time.

Except for two, who looked to be a bit younger than she was, every one of them was at least six inches taller than her, which was a little intimidating, she had to admit. They all gathered around, and she supposed that her sudden intrusion into their space had gotten their full attention at last.

" _Maybe I should talked to one of them alone, back in the village, and gotten an invite before showing up here…"_ she thought, remembering some things Kantra had told her about social etiquette among his species, and wondering if she'd just broken a male taboo or something. She was, after all, a relative stranger here, and for to come into this place, where males trained to be hunters, may possibly be considered extremely disrespectful.

None of them seemed to know what to say to the newcomer, until one-the oldest, by the look of him-stepped forward, and Grey decided it might be best to let him speak first, so she could get a feel for how this encounter was going to go down.

"Are you lost, Ooman?" he asked, cocking his head slightly. He was a pale grey-green, with plain brown eyes, and not a single spot on him, though he did have the longest hair of the bunch, which hung below his broad shoulders.

"No; I was told about this place recently, and came here to check it out." she replied, looking him in the face, since they were all still considered pups, no one outranked anyone yet, and Kantra had told her that if she wished to gain respect from these young hotheads, she would probably have to be a bit abrasive with them, since so many of their kind considered human women to be timid and submissive.

"Who told you?" a dark brown male with black splotches demanded, from somewhere in the back of the group.

"The Arbitrator, Kantra." she said, not usually one for name-drops, but it was the truth.

At the sound of the name, there were whispers among the group of males, and some of them seemed to be impressed by what they'd heard.

"Then you're the Ooman he dropped off here a few months ago?" someone else asked.

"Of course she is, pauk-de! How many Oomans have _you_ seen running around here?" the greenish male asked, and Grey knew that _pauk_ was a Yautja expletive, and that it, like certain human swears, could be used in a variety of ways and situations.

"Don't call me pauk-de, pauk-de! I was just asking her a damn question!" the other male snapped back.

"A damn _stupid_ question! Use your common sense!" the older male retorted.

"Your mother should have used common sense, and made your father pull out of her!"

" _Ooh, that's a good one. I'll have to remember that for later…"_ Grey thought, as both males looked about ready to jump on each other at any moment.

"Enough of this!" the older male said, once he seemed to remember that Grey was still there, and attention turned back to her again.

"What exactly do you want here, Ooman?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest and staring at Grey, and several others imitated him.

"I was hoping to get some training in out here. And the name's Grey." she said.

Upon hearing this, the clearing was filled with the sound of rapidly-clicking tusks; they found her statement highly amusing.

"Train? With us? Why would you think we'd let you train _here_?" he asked, once they'd all calmed down.

"Why not?" Grey asked.

"For one, because you're an Ooman; don't you know we'll end up _hunting_ your kind later on?"

"Yeah, I've seen what you guys can do." the female replied dryly.

"And it doesn't bother you?" the brown male from before asked.

"Not as much as it should, no." she admitted, and some of the others again seemed impressed.

"Then you're _hulij-bpe_ , Ooman; even more so, if you've come here." the oldest male said.

"Yeah, I'll admit I'm pauk-de crazy, it runs in my family; but I'm a pretty good fighter, too."

"I heard you killed a Bad Blood, and that's why the Arbitrator brought you here. My sister told me Lady Ijane's training you to become a huntress." another reddish-brown male said, and everyone turned to look at her again.

"That's right." she said simply. Everyone in the clan was sure to know by now the reason Kantra had left her with his mother, including these males.

"Well then, Ooman; if you can kill a Bad Blood, and train with Lady Ijane, you can win a fight against me. One-on-one, no weapons, and the first one to draw blood wins." the green male said boldly.

"Fight? For what?" Grey asked, though she'd been pretty sure it was going to come to this.

"For honor, of course, what else? If I win, I can say I defeated the Ooman who killed a Bad Blood, and you go back to the village and never come out here again."

"And if _I_ win?"

"If you're really that good, and you win against me, you can start coming here and training with us." he said, after a minute's thought.

"Just you and me, then? These guys aren't gonna jump in at the last minute?" she asked, eying the rest of the males.

"We're training to become _honorable hunters_ ; not Bad Bloods. No one will join in. It's a fair fight, all the way; no weapons, no help, no grudges." he assured her, and the others took their cue and retreated to the sidelines to watch.

"Sounds good to me." Grey said, taking off her sandals and simultaneously taking stock of the male before her. He was pretty powerfully-built; though not nearly as much so as the fully-grown hunters and females she'd been around up to this point. One thing she knew was that this species could be surprisingly fast for their size, and to underestimate them in this category could be a fatal mistake. Not that they were fighting a death match, which she'd been told by Ijane was illegal until she was a fully-Blooded huntress; but accidental deaths had occurred on several occasions during simple wrestling matches, and those were between Yautja, so death was a possibility, no matter how remote.

"All right, it's a simple claw challenge! No weapons, no outside help, and the first one to draw the other's blood is the winner, and it goes no further than that! Oh, and biting isn't allowed!" the reddish-brown male called out, as both opponents took their places a short distance apart in the middle of the clearing.

"You didn't need to tell us that!" the green male called, sounding annoyed.

Bowing her opponent, as she'd been taught, she waited for the call to begin, while the oldest male looked curiously at her, apparently intrigued by the foreign gesture of respect.

" _dtai'kai-dte!"_ the other male called, and immediately the green male rushed at Grey with one hand out, clearly attempting a grab, which she sidestepped easily, but kept her eyes on him as he skidded to a halt a few feet away.

It only took him a moment to turn around and rush back at her, aiming low in an attempt to seize her around the middle, but she quickly jumped out of the way again, narrowly avoiding her opponent's grasp.

"You've got good reflexes, for an Ooman." the male commented, stopping for a minute to catch his breath, and took another run at her.

This was what she'd been waiting for, and, taking a deep breath, aimed a powerful kick upwards.

She felt her right foot connect with the underside of his jaw, and was pretty sure she also felt it break in the process. Putting the foot down gingerly, she found that she could still put weight on it, and decided that it wasn't broken, and turned her attention to the male, who hand landed on all fours on the ground, facing away from her.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her foot, Grey crept slowly around the green male, making sure to keep far enough away from him so that he couldn't reach out and grab her, if what she'd tried to do hadn't worked.

As she came to face him, she saw that while she hadn't been able to cause him to bite his tongue or the inside of his mouth to draw blood, which would have been the quickest and easiest way to end things, she had caused him to become rather dazed, but that was quickly passing.

"Nice try, Ooman; but now I'll show you how a _Yautja_ draws blood!" he growled, and before she could react with her injured foot, Grey found herself being hoisted up into the air by one arm, which was soon joined by the other, so that she was a little over a foot off the ground, and for a moment, remembered how the huge, different breed of Yautja had done something similar not too long before.

" _That's it!"_ she thought, remembering what she'd done in that situation.

Bringing her legs up, she managed to brace her feet pretty firmly against his chest, since her legs were, after all, longer than his arms. Bringing herself into a kind of crouch, she pushed off, hard, and when she swung back, managed to wrap her legs around his abdomen, which caused him to let go of her arms in surprise, allowing her to grab hold of his shoulders and cling onto him.

"I think she's got something besides fighting in mind!" one of the other males called out, and for half a second, the green male looked at Grey with a face of such panicked confusion that she almost laughed, knowing how this must appear to onlookers.

Gripping him tighter with her legs, she raised up as much as she could, which brought their faces to about the same level, leaned back, catching a glimpse of the still-shocked male's face, his eyes and mandibles wide, and brought her head down in ferocious head-butt, hoping for a better result than her earlier kick.

The impact parted the two, with the male landing sprawled out on the ground on his back, and Grey, a few feet away, swearing loudly as her injured foot connected with the ground.

After about a minute, when the male didn't get up, Grey began to worry, and so, apparently, did the others. The reddish-brown one who had been appointed referee rushed over to his companion and examined him, then stood up.

"He's out cold! The Ooman wins by _nain-desintje-de_!"

Grey heaved a sigh of relief; for a second, she was worried that the green male was a lot worse off than unconscious.

"The rule was that the one who drew first blood wins!" another male yelled.

"She did that, too! Look!" the referee male said, pointing down at the unconscious Yautja, whom Grey could see, upon further inspection, had an inch-long cut above one eye, from which a thin stream of bright green blood flowed freely.

Smiling, Grey reached up to push a lock of hair out of her face, and when she brought her hand back down, saw a large smear of fresh red blood on her palm. Further inspection revealed that the knot on the top of her head from the previous day's sword practice, which had been bleeding quite a bit after Kantra's second strike, was bleeding once again.

All the other males were now crowded around the green one, who by this point was coming back to consciousness and no doubt asking what happened. For just a moment, it occurred to Grey that they didn't know she was bleeding, too, and if she didn't say anything, it would have been considered _nain-desintje-de_ ; absolute victory.

She knew, though, that Kantra and Ijane would never have approved of such deceit, and sighed.

"Wait a minute; I'm bleeding, too!" she called, walking over to join the group.

They all crowded around her now, including her opponent, and looked at the top of her head, which was confirmed to be bleeding.

"What now, Nanku?" the ref asked, looking at the green male.

"Now, I'm going home; my foot hurts like hell, and so does my head." Grey said, picking up her sandals and gingerly putting them on. At this point, she could give a shit whether a bunch of teenage boys let her join their little play group in the woods. All she wanted was to go home, take a hot bath, and let Ijane fuss over her injuries, as she was certain to do.

"Wait, Ooman! Don't go anywhere yet!" the green male-Nanku-said, in a commanding tone, and gathered all the other males around him, and they began talking quietly amongst themselves.

This went on for about ten minutes, until the small circle broke apart, and Nanku strode over to her, wiping his cut on the back of his hand as he did so, and wiping that on one leg of the shorts he was wearing.

"We've decided that you may be fit to join us, after all, Ooman…Grey." he said, using her name for the first time, but not looking at her while he did so. He seemed a little awkward now that he wasn't acting like such a bigshot, and the human was sure his pride bothering him a lot more than his eye right now.

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?" she asked, trying to look casual and keep the weight off her right foot at the same time.

"Our fight proved your honor." he said simply.

"We both ended up bleeding, remember?" she asked, hoping she hadn't caused him a concussion or something. It would be ironic, though, since Ijane had been worried about the exact same thing after her session with Kantra.

"But _we_ didn't know that. You could have kept your injury to yourself, but you called attention to it. You fought fairly, and well; and you waited until I'd recovered from your first attack before you resumed fighting. You showed _respect_ for your opponent." he said.

"So, what now?"

"Now, I'll take you home, so your wounds can be attended to. When you are healed, you may come back and join us; you have _earned_ a place here, Grey." Nanku told her, placing a hand rather tentatively on the human's shoulder. She guessed he must still feel a little awkward from her earlier move.

"Thanks, I appreciate it." she said, and was surprised when he actually picked her up, bridal style, and began carrying her through the forest, calling over his shoulder for the others to resume their practice until he got back.

"So, which house do you live in?" Grey asked, as they came out of the forest and passed the Matriarch's dwelling.

"The one over there; next to where the Matriarch lives." he said, walking down the main street of the village towards Ijane's house, in which the lights were already on in the windows.

When they reached it, Nanku knocked on the door, and the pair heard footsteps approaching from inside, before the door opened to reveal Ijane, who had apparently been cooking dinner when the pair arrived.

"Hello, Aunt Ijane." Nanku said casually, and Grey yelped and gave such a jump of surprise that she fell out of the stunned male's arms and landed on her ass on the doorstep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer – I don't own AVP; just my guys and original story ideas.**

 **Chapter 13**

"Ow…" Grey groaned, her ass now in almost as much pain as her foot and head.

"Luar-ke!" Ijane exclaimed, and quickly scooped the human up and brought her over to one of the cushions, while Nanku followed, looking worried.

"What happened, Nanku?" she asked the green male, now revealed to be her nephew, as she examined the younger female's foot, which was swollen to nearly twice its normal size, and was a spectacular collection of purple, black and blue.

"We were…well…" Nanku began, but didn't seem to be able to find a good way to explain Grey's injuries to his aunt.

"We got hurt while we were beating the hell out of each other." Grey finished for him.

"You were doing _what_?"

"I issued her a challenge, with the promise that she could join us if she won. It was the usual rules for an unarmed fight; first to draw blood wins." the male said, sounding uneasy.

"I hurt my foot trying kick him." the human said simply.

"She knocked me out cold with a head-butt, Aunt Ijane, and I was bleeding."

"I can see _that_." Ijane said, looking at the cut above her nephew's eye, and went into the kitchen, coming back a moment later with a wet cloth for him and a cold pack for her charge's foot.

"I ended up bleeding, too, so it was kind of a draw." Grey said.

"Then this was all for nothing?" the other female asked, looking at both of them.

"Well, no, Aunt Ijane; not really. See, nobody knew she'd been injured, so she could have just let us all think she'd won, but she let us know about it right away, so we all decided that she could come and train with us, since she'd been honest. She showed her honor today." Nanku finished, looking at Grey.

"By Paya…" Ijane sighed, while looking at the top of Grey's head, and making her press another cold cloth to the wound there.

"So, uh, is my foot broken?" the human asked, after her caretaker had examined it a bit more thoroughly with the bio-scanner in her mask.

"No; but it is fractured slightly. You'll have to stay off of it for a few days, if it's to heal properly." Ijane replied, taking off her mask and laying it aside.

"But when it's healed, can she come back to the kehrite?" Nanku asked.

"I suppose so… It must have been quite a kick, to do this, though." his aunt said, looking at Grey, an impressed expression showing on her face, along with the remaining concern.

"I'll say…" the green male muttered, rubbing his lower jaw with one hand.

"For now, though, you'd better get back home; I don't think your mother will be too pleased if she finds you out so late, Nanku." Ijane said seriously.

"I was thinking the same thing, actually… Dinner should be ready soon, anyway, and the others will have been called back home by now, so there'd be no point in going back to the training ground now." he replied, handing her the cloth and heading for the door.

"I'll see you in a few days, Grey; maybe you can teach the rest of us some of those Ooman moves." he said, before nodding a respectful goodbye to his aunt, and taking his leave.

"So, he's your nephew?" Grey asked, as Ijane went back to her room to put her mask up.

"Yes, he's Mjadi's only pup. He'll be leaving with some of the other Unblooded in a few months' time, once they've finished their braiding ceremony." she replied, going to the kitchen and returning once again with a plate of food for the younger female and herself.

"Wow, I had no idea. I guess it's because I haven't seen too many of the males my age around here." Grey said, digging in to her food.

"Well, I'll say this: my sister and I may have our…differences…but she's an excellent mother to her pups. I'll never say nor hear a word against her in that category."

"Do you think she'll have a problem with the two of us hanging out together? I mean, I think he's technically my cousin now, isn't he?"

"Frankly, I'm sure she'll have something to say on the subject. But Grey, try not to judge her too harshly, should she say anything to you; Nanku is her only child, and he'll be leaving the village soon, and be forever beyond her protection." Ijane said, with a slightly melancholy note to her voice, and Grey knew she was thinking about her own son.

Nanku felt a slight sense of dread as he walked through the village's now-empty main street, which was now bathed in the extra hour of twilight provided by Second Sunset.

He had first heard of the Ooman called Grey when, his mother and grandmother had returned from the Great Temple, and he'd rushed off to the young males' kehrite in the forest to tell his friends of his journey and get caught up on everything he'd missed since he'd left. One of the other males, the reddish one who'd served as referee in the earlier match, whose name was Se'at, had told him that his cousin, the Arbitrator Kantra, had returned to the village some days before, bringing with him, and then leaving, an Ooman female of about fifteen seasons, who was staying with his Aunt Ijane in her home near the edge of the clearing. Of course, he hadn't believed a word of this at first; but when he'd gotten home, his mother had confirmed it for him, going on about how all the other clans, both male and female, were sure to be laughing at them in no time.

He'd spent the last few months trying to decide whether or not he should seek out this female, since it didn't seem as though they'd see each other around the village anytime soon. His curiosity had been held back, however, by his unwillingness to get his mother started again on the shame the Ooman's presence would bring down on all their heads. It had been more than three months since her arrival, however, and nothing had changed for the Lakeshore Clan, so Grey's being there didn't appear to be the disaster that his mother had predicted.

In fact, he decided, again rubbing his sore jaw, he actually found the Ooman to be quite interesting, and was looking forward to her foot healing so she could join them at their improvised kehrite again.

" _I'm sure Mother will_ _ **love**_ _that."_ he thought sarcastically, opening the door to his house and walking in, the smell of cooking meat making his mouth water as soon as he entered.

"Where have you been, pup? All the others have returned to their homes already." Mjadi demanded, stepping out of the kitchen with a long wooden spoon in one hand, and a scowl on her face.

For a split second, Nanku thought about saying he'd stayed behind to straighten up the kehrite, instead of revealing his trip to his aunt's home and the reason for it; but he was planning to become an honorable, respected hunter, and as such, uttering anything but the absolute truth would be disgraceful.

"I went to Aunt Ijane's, Mother." he replied.

His mother gave a sharp click of her tusks at the sound of her sister's name, and went back to stirring the large pot of soup over the fire, her back to him.

"For what reason?" she asked, after a couple of minutes of silence. Though he had absolutely no idea why, his mother and aunt had been at odds with each other since before he was born, and every time the two females were in the same room with each other, the tension between them was almost palpable. He found this immensely strange, since both of them were so much like each other; intelligent, honorable, protective, diligent, proud, and gentle, where their pups were concerned. He wouldn't have dared tell his mother how much like her sister she was, though, or he wouldn't live long enough _to_ train with the other Unblooded males…

"The Ooman Grey did herself an injury, and I brought her back home."

Another sharp click from his mother at the mention of the female.

"And how did you come by her? I though she mainly stayed at my sister's home or wandered about the village with the young pups?" she asked.

"She came out to the kehrite today, and we…fought." he said.

"You _fought_ with her? Why?" she asked, turning around to look him.

Nanku then proceeded to tell his mother what had happened that day, including his defeat at Grey's hands. By time he'd finished, dinner was ready, and the pair went into their own common room to eat.

"So, you lost to her…" she said, cocking her head at the idea.

"She's a good fighter; and an honorable one, Mother. There is no shame in losing a match to such a worthy opponent." he said.

"True…" the female sighed. A fair victory such as Grey's couldn't be disputed, even if was just a fight between adolescent pups, and she knew that as well as anyone.

"Did your aunt say anything about me, when you went to her house?" she asked, after taking a drink of her own stew.

This was the part Nanku had truly been dreading; though he loved his mother dearly, he hated it when she asked such questions, and hated to feel like he was being put in the middle of whatever was wrong between them.

"The only thing she said was that you wouldn't like me being out so late." he said, in a tone that he hoped would put a stop to further questions on the subject.

She didn't seem to be able to find something to say to this, and they continued their meal in silence, though Nanku noticed that his mother would spend long moments staring at him with somewhat somber expression on her face. She'd been doing this for a few months now, even before their trip to the Great Temple, and he was sure it had something to do with his impending departure from the village.

After dinner, he bade her goodnight and retired to his room, while she stayed up a bit to do some sewing on a new tunic she was making for herself. As he fell asleep, he thought about Grey, and all the interesting Ooman techniques she could show them once she was fighting fit again. He hoped he had enough time to learn some decent moves…

Mjadi sat in the common room, looking out of the large window at the night sky beyond the thick forest and absentmindedly sewing the dark green fabric in her lap into a tunic.

What Nanku had told her about his defeat at the hands of the Ooman female had shaken her a bit; not because she was disappointed in him for losing, but because if such a creature as an unarmed Ooman pup could beat her son in a fight, what chance did he have against the other Unblooded, his teacher, or the Kiande Amedha he would eventually face?

She only had a few months left with her son, she knew; and after that, he would go off to face the Hard Meat, and the dangerous and-all too often-short life of a Yautja hunter. Nanku's sire, an Elite who chose to hunt alone, had fallen to the claws and jaws of a Hard Meat Queen, and though she didn't have a particularly strong attachment to him, save her gratitude for giving her a strong, healthy pup, the news of his demise had caused her _some_ distress.

Leaning back against the cushion, she sighed, and her thoughts turned, for whatever reason, to her sister and her adopted Ooman pup, Grey.

" _She calls her "Luar-ke", though."_ Mjadi thought, somewhat amused by the pet name.

Though she had feared that the child's presence would shame their clan, in truth, it didn't seem to have changed much of anything, except for now, the young pups had something to do most days, instead of running all over the place.

" _What was my nephew_ _ **thinking**_ _?"_ she wondered, thinking back to all the times she'd seen Grey walking around with the pups behind her, and wondering if the Arbitrator had, perhaps, been mistaken about the female taking down a Bad Blood. Really, she looked as though a strong enough wind would be enough to knock her over…

Both he and Ijane seemed to believe that she had the makings of a huntress; and really, stranger things had happened. It was still a mystery how Ijane was going to turn that pup into the kind of fierce warrior that she had been before–

She was roused from her thoughts by the sound of her son opening the door to the washroom, and closing it when he exited a couple of minutes later.

Sighing again, she decided she'd leave the rest of the sewing for the next day, and went back to her own room to go to sleep.

Grey's fractured foot forced her to remain indoors for the next few days, during which time she tried to help Ijane with whatever tasks she was able to do while sitting on the common room's cushions. She felt immensely guilty, once she'd really thought things over, about sitting around while there was work to be done, not to mention the fact that her training had to be put off, as well; especially when Kantra had been so impressed with her progress so far. She'd dreaded their next meeting, when news of this bit of dumbassery was sure to come up, and wished that she could just tell him now, and get it over with.

It was then that she had remembered, for the first time since he'd given it to her, the device Kantra had presented her with; a gift from the Thwei Luar-ke Clan's Quartermaster Kwei, who had apparently thought that the incredible tablet he'd made before hadn't been up to the standards of excellence that he apparently held for himself.

The thing was simple enough to figure out; it was basically just a smaller version of the one she already had.

Or so she'd thought. Once she'd done some exploring, she found that this thing was, as Kwei had said, 1000 times better than the original; and that was saying something. The oddest thing about it, Grey thought, was that the interface was similar (disturbingly so, in fact) to that of certain Earth phones; and she wondered how in the hell he'd managed that, unless he had some way of keeping up with human technology…

Actually, Ijane had told her later that night that this theory was probably correct, as the Yautja did indeed keep tabs on how advanced humanity's technology was; and that included everything from military satellites to basic laptops and electronics.

"For the Hunt?" Grey had asked, smirking.

"Exactly." her caretaker had replied.

"How do you manage that?" she'd asked.

"There are some Yautja among us who are very dedicated when it comes to that type of thing. They don't usually engage in the Hunt; but they do make periodic trips to Earth and other worlds to see how things are progressing there. Admittedly, they don't usually get the credit they deserve, though." the older female had told her.

However he'd done it, Grey was grateful to the Quartermaster for the device, which, when she contacted him later to offer her thanks, discovered had no official name. After some discussion on the matter, however, it was eventually decided that it would simply be called a "Universal", since it did everything; scanning, holograms, maps, information, translating, and so on.

"Basically, it's an extremely high-level wrist comp. Usually, only Elders and above have access to the kinds of information and functions it exhibits. Actually, I may have gotten a bit **too** enthusiastic when I was making it…" Kwei had admitted.

"I won't tell anyone, if it'll get you in trouble or something." Grey assured him.

"You've my thanks for that. Still, I don't think I should have added the autodestruct device to it, since you're still on the Homeworld."

"You did **what**? This thing isn't going to explode if I drop it or anything, is it?" she'd responded, holding the Universal at arms-length.

"It shouldn't. And anyway, it would be almost impossible for you to set it off accidentally."

This last response from him took a little longer than the others, which did little to reassure the human. Finally, though, she decided to trust that the Quartermaster knew what he was doing, and from what Ijane had told her of the Yautja autodestruct device, she wouldn't have time to register its explosion, anyway.

"You know, it does have the ability to allow you to speak to others, instead of using written messages." he'd informed her, and proceeded to explain how to activate that function, after which they were able to speak face-to-face for the first time.

"Okay, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen." she'd said, and heard Kwei give an approving growl.

He'd gone on to explain a few more of the Universal's unique capabilities, including one that scanned plants and animals and revealed whether they were fit for hunting or eating. This, he said, would be a huge help to her in the future.

Finally, he'd had to get back to work, and Grey was left to play with the Universal for a couple of hours, until Ijane returned from a visit to Nuini's house and asked her to help peel some vegetables for use in a new recipe she intended to try.

Her caretaker had been quite impressed by the face-to-face function, and Grey had suggested that she use it to call up Kantra and see how he was doing, since her home communication center was one of the models that only allowed for written messages.

"He'll still be on his Hunt; I won't disturb him now." she'd replied, but said that she'd talk to her son as soon as he let her know he was finished.

Nanku had visited them on the third day of Grey's recuperation, and told her that the other males were as anxious as he was for her return to the kehrite.

"Another few days, and she can join you." his aunt had said, using the Uni to scan Grey's foot, and looking impressed by the thoroughness of the bio-scanner Kwei had installed in the device.

"Hey, check this out; it's the inside of my foot." the human had said, smirking. Ijane had had to intervene in Grey's examination of her own innards a couple of days before, saying that it was a morbid pastime, and suggesting she read up on Yautja culture instead.

"Luar-ke, stop that." the female had called from the kitchen, having gone in there to start preparing lunch, and the two teenagers laughed quietly.

Finally, after another seven days, Grey's foot had healed enough to satisfy Ijane, who gave her the go-ahead to re-join the males at the kehrite. Before this, however, she'd made the younger female promise to be careful, and not to overexert herself in the heat.

"You have to keep your limits in mind, pup." she'd said, handing Grey a large canteen of water as she went out the door.

Nanku, too, had to make a promise to Ijane; he was made to swear that he would intervene if the training got too rough or intense.

"She's not as strong as the rest of you, nephew; she could get hurt very easily." she'd said.

"I understand, Aunt Ijane. I'll make sure she comes back in one piece." the green male had replied, nodding in understanding, and went out to join his Ooman "cousin" on her walk to her first official visit to the makeshift kehrite.

"So, did Ijane ask you to look out for me?" Grey asked, when they were far enough away from her caretaker's house.

"She only asked that I remember that you're not as strong as a Yautja; which is true." Nanku replied.

"That's fair, I guess. What's on the agenda for today?"

"We've been trying to re-create that kick you caught me with last time; but none of us have been able to do anything but land on our backsides in the dirt. We were hoping you could show us how to do it properly."

"I can try; I've always been the student, though, not the teacher."

"Well, I'd like to learn whatever you can teach me before I have to leave."

"For training?" Grey asked.

"With the other Unblooded from the female clans in this region, yes. I'll be starting the plaiting ritual next week, and once that's done, I'll be considered an Unblooded."

"Plaiting ceremony?" the human asked, thinking she'd heard something about that from Ijane, but not remembering the details; there was so much to keep track of.

"Every Yautja who hopes to participate in the Hunt has to have his or her hair plaited in a certain way."

"I didn't know there was a regulation hairstyle to become a hunter." Grey said, the corners of her mouth twitching, but Nanku's face was serious.

"It's a very ritualized process that can take months, and it'll be done in front of my family and peers. It's also said to be extremely painful, and if I show any sign of discomfort, no matter how small, the plaits will all be undone and I'll have to start from the beginning. It would be a great embarrassment for me, my family and my clan if I were to have to start over." he said solemnly.

"Did Ijane have to do it?"

"Of course. She had hers undone after she had Kantra, though, because she didn't plan to hunt anymore while she raised him."

"Then she'd have to have it redone, if she wanted to start hunting again?"

"Absolutely."

"Do you think I'll have to do it?" she asked, after a couple of minutes.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. You should talk to Aunt Ijane about it; she could explain things better, having gone through it herself." the male replied, stopping and examining a lock of Grey's long black hair, before they continued on and into the forest.

Grey was escorted home by Nanku later that evening, and though she wasn't injured, she was dead tired from her first day's training with the young males.

She'd tried her best to teach them the kick she'd used on Nanku the previous week; but none of them were able to come close to duplicating it, and finally, all agreed that such a feat was beyond their current skill level.

She had, however, gotten along well with the other males, and after some pestering from them, finally told them about how she'd been taken from Earth by the Bad Bloods, killed the one, met Kantra, and ended up on the Yautja Homeworld, omitting the part about her being naked while fighting, of course. They'd all been impressed, including Nanku; especially when she'd told them about meeting Elder Yeyinde, who was a bit of a legend, it seemed, because of his impressive collection of trophies and other mementoes of past Hunts. Finally, the voices of various females could be heard through the woods, calling their offspring home, and Grey recognized Ijane's among them, and left with the others, walking through the village in the twilight.

After a cool bath and hot dinner, she sank, groaning, into her cushion, and was asleep within minutes.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer – I don't own AVP. I just own my original characters and story ideas.**

 **Word List**

 **Ma'ndte** – A word I made up for the Yautja who plaits the hair of the aspiring Unblooded.

 **Chapter 14**

True to his word, Nanku began his plaiting ceremony the next week, and by the way everyone was acting, it wasn't going to be a simple trip to the hairdresser.

"Does everyone always get excited like this?" Grey asked, as they boarded the small shuttle that would take them to the place where the ceremony was taking place.

Ijane had received a message from Mjadi the previous morning, asking her to attend her nephew's plaiting ceremony, along with their mother and, if Ijane wished, Grey. It was traditional for the immediate family of the aspiring hunter to come and watch the ritual, which would take place in a special room attached to a nearby temple.

"Absolutely. This is the final step before an aspiring hunter goes off for their first training; it's cause for celebration among our people." the former huntress replied, and Grey noticed that she was absentmindedly playing with a couple of her own plaits as she spoke.

Everyone aboard the shuttle did seem to be in something of a festive mood; though this was tempered with a bit of anxiety, and were all dressed in very nice attire for the occasion. Ijane wore a long hanging dress in deep green, Grey, a sort of ankle-length toga dress, Nanku, a pair of new brown shorts and reddish-brown leather vest, Mjadi, a light blue flowing skirt and strapless top, and Di'sedi, a simple long tank dress and flowing shawl, both in deep mauve. There were others traveling with them, from other outlying clans, Ijane had said, and all of them were also sporting new garments.

Because there were so many female clans on the Homeworld, and a fair few that preferred to travel in space, it would have been unfeasible for the _Ma'ndte_ -the one who would be doing the braiding-to travel from one clan's village to another, so it had been decided long ago that a shuttle would pick up future hunters and their families and bring them to the temple, and take them home again. According to Di'sedi, this was taking place across the entire planet.

"In ancient times, the ritual would be held at the Great Temple; but there were far fewer Yautja back then, and they weren't nearly as spread out as they are now." she'd said, as they'd played So'in the day before.

As the shuttle traveled along over vast regions of forest and wasteland, occasionally stopping to pick up more passengers, there were only two main topics being discussed by those onboard: the upcoming ceremony and, of course, Grey. As she listened, she heard several people whispering about her, and to her relief, found that their words were generally more curious than unkind. A few of the females onboard had young pups with them, and they stared, as the ones back in village had done, in utter fascination at this new creature who seemed relatively at home among their own kind.

"Here, take mine." Ijane said, as a young-looking female and her son boarded the shuttle, and got up to let the female-who was clearly in the last stages of pregnancy-have her seat, and Grey did the same for her son, so they could sit together.

"My thanks, _mei-jadhi_ ; it isn't easy, carrying this little one around all the time." the other female replied gratefully, patting her swollen belly. Her son, meanwhile, had begun talking to Nanku and another young male about something or other, and the three were oblivious to everything else at the moment. It was then that Grey realized that these three, indeed, most of the young males on the shuttle, had taken their hair out of the usual plaits, though it seemed to have had a mind of its own, and had twisted into dozens of small bunches.

"Believe me, I know the feeling." Ijane replied, and Grey tried to imagine the pale brown female who kicked her ass around the kehrite on an almost daily basis waddling along with a belly full of baby Kantra…

"And this young one must be the Ooman everyone onboard has been talking about. Thank you for letting my son sit down; I'm sure he'd thank you himself, but…" the other female said, looking at her son, who was still talking animatedly with Nanku and the other male.

"It's no trouble…" the human muttered.

Ijane and the female continued their pleasant conversation until the shuttle gently touched down again, but this time, it wasn't to pick up more passengers.

"We've arrived at the temple." Di'sedi said, in answer to Grey's unvoiced question, and this was confirmed when everyone began to make their way off the shuttle, including the female to whom Ijane had given her seat and her son, who tried to make as much space as possible for his mother to move through the crowd without being jostled too much.

Grey couldn't help but gasp as she saw the temple for the first time. It was a large, adobe-colored building, made of enormous bricks of what may have been some kind of marble, in the shape of a low pyramid. On a large piece of white stone outside, there was a large carving of Paya, the Yautja's warrior god, and beside him, a carving of the God of Death, the Black Warrior, Cetanu, whose armor was done in an incredible mosaic of smooth black stone. Around the two figures were smaller carvings of Yautja, Hard Meat, and humans, along with other beasts Grey didn't recognize.

"All those participating in the plaiting ceremony, come with me!" an authoritative voice barked, and Grey, along with everyone else, turned to see a white-clad female standing in front of the temple's main door.

At once, no less than twenty Yautja, all of whom were males, hurried to stand before the female, who gave them a once-over, before speaking again.

"Once I have taken them to the room where the ritual will be held, I will return and escort the rest of you to your seats. Please wait here until I return." she said, and without another word, walked briskly back into the temple, followed by the males, who gave each other questioning looks, but didn't dare speak.

"Do you think he'll do well, Ijane?" Mjadi asked, coming to stand beside her sister as she watched her son disappear into the temple and out of sight.

"He'll do fine, Mjadi." Ijane reassured her, and Grey thought that they must have agreed to put aside their tension, at least for the duration of the ceremony.

After a few minutes, the female in white returned, and ushered the others inside.

The interior of the temple was just as impressive as the exterior. Torches, rather than lights, illuminated the wide rooms, and dozens of statues and carvings decorated the walls, along with thousands of lines of Yautja text which may have been holy writings. Even though Grey wasn't particularly religious, she had to appreciate the beauty of this alien temple, and wished she'd had a little more time to look around before being gently prodded by Ijane.

They came out into a large, circular, open air room, where the two suns could be seen in the sky above them. In the middle of the room was a raised round dais, on which sat a cushion and low wooden table. The dais was surrounded by many rows of stone benches arranged like a small amphitheater, where all who were seated could have a good view of what was happening on the dais in the very center. There was another door opposite the one from which they'd just entered, and high on one wall was a large stone balcony.

"It's for the fathers of those who are undergoing the ceremony, should they wish to attend." Ijane explained, seeing where Grey was looking.

"Did your father attend yours?" the human asked, careful not to speak too loudly, since places like this could carry an echo for miles.

"He did; every single session." the female said, with a distinct note of pride in her voice.

"Perhaps we should find our seats now." Di'sedi suggested, and after picking their way through the crowd, managed to get some good spots down front, with a clear view of the dais.

Soon, everyone else had taken their seats as well, and the amphitheater sounded more like a forest on a windy day, with the echoes of so many whispers reverberating throughout the room.

"So, Nanku and I were talking about this last week, and I was wondering if I would have to do this before I start my Unblooded training, too." Grey said quietly, as Mjadi and Di'sedi talked to one another.

"I doubt it, Luar-ke; your hair would not be suitable for this ritual." Ijane said.

"How so?" the human inquired.

"Well, Yautja and Oomans have very different hair. Ours tends to grow and twist itself into small bunches, so it just made sense to plait it as such. Also, I believe Ooman hair grows directly from the scalp, yes?" she asked.

"That's right." Grey replied, not knowing where her caretaker was going with this.

"But our hair grows from the tip; and unlike yours, it contains a substantial number of miniature nerve endings, as well as blood vessels, so it bleeds if it's cut." Ijane said, handing Grey a couple of her long locks, which were quite warm to the touch, and had the texture of slightly-rubbery skin.

"Then they're not really hair?" she asked, gently letting go of the plaits.

"No; the prevailing theory is that they were originally some kind of sensory organ, but no longer serve that purpose. The blood vessels and nerves are just vestigial, at this point. We say "hair" because it's just easier to call it that."

"A haircut must be agony, then." the human said, with a shudder.

"And as such, is only done if absolutely necessary." Ijane agreed, nodding slowly.

Their conversation was cut short by what sounded like a gong, and the entire amphitheater grew instantly quiet. A few minutes later, the young males, Nanku included, came out of the door across from where Grey's group was sitting, and silently went to sit on one of the benches nearest the dais. A slight movement from the balcony caught Grey's eye, and she looked up to see four or five fully-grown males taking their seats and looking out over the crowd below.

Soon, the white-clad female from before came out onto the dais and announced the arrival of the Ma'ndte, who turned to be an older-looking female in a similar white robe, but trimmed in gold, and with dozens of silver and gold rings adorning her knee-length plaits. The first female then led everyone in a short prayer asking Paya's blessing on the aspiring hunters, and then called the first to the stage.

The first young male, who was a darker green than Nanku, with black spots here and there, came up on the dais and knelt in the middle, followed by the Ma'ndte, who took her place on the cushion. She took one of the young male's bunches of hair and inspected it, while he sat perfectly still, eyes forward. After a bit, she made a gesture to the female in the plain white robe, who hurried out and returned with a small wooden box, which she sat upon the table and quickly bowed and returned to her seat.

"Oh, I was afraid of that…" Di'sedi whispered, and Grey was about to ask what she meant, when the female on the dais pulled from the box what looked like a cross between scissors and nail clippers and, without hesitation, deftly snipped the last half-inch or so of the plait with a sound like kitchen scissors cutting through gristle, and Grey saw every Yautja around her flinch, save for the male on the dais.

"That's why I took Nanku's hair out of the plaits before we left this morning." Mjadi whispered, as the severed lock began to bleed, the neon green fluid trickling down the young male's shoulder and chest.

The Ma'ndte then proceeded to clip the ends off a few more plaits, and then began the task of undoing the braids themselves, occasionally using a cloth provided by her assistant to wipe her hands, and then set about the task of re-plating the still-bleeding locks into the appropriate style.

"Believe it or not, the plaiting itself is supposed to be more painful than the cutting. I wouldn't know, though; I had the forethought to take mine out before the ceremony." Ijane said, as a slight breeze brought the scent of the male's blood to them.

It took about an hour, but finally, a handful of the male's hair had been plaited, and the Ma'ndte finished by taking another instrument from the box and cauterizing the ends, which stopped the bleeding immediately, but again made the audience flinch, especially when the smell reached them.

The young male then went and took his place beside his mother in the audience, and the Ma'ndte was brought a bowl of water and another cloth to wash her hands, before the next male-the one who had come with his pregnant mother-was called.

He was far more fortunate than his predecessor, as his hair had been freed of its plaits, and so the re-braiding could begin right away, and only took half an hour.

After another five males had had their turn on the dais, it was Nanku's turn, and Grey heard Mjadi's breath catch in her throat as he only child took his place before the Ma'ndte. His ritual only took half an hour, and he sat there, stone-faced, the entire time.

"You did wonderfully, Nanku!" Ijane whispered proudly, when he came over to sit between his mother and aunt.

"I'm so proud of you, my son!" Mjadi said, looking as though she was resisting the urge to hug him with all her might.

"Good on you, man." Grey said, smiling at her "cousin".

By the time all the young males had been through the plaiting ritual, First Sunset had already happened, and everyone made their way back through the temple and onto their respective shuttles for the ride home, the young males and their mothers thanking the Ma'ndte as they exited the temple.

"Are they going to be okay?" Grey asked, indicating the four males who'd had their hair clipped earlier, who were sitting in the back looking decidedly cranky.

"They'll be fine, after a few days. I'll bet they take their hair down for the next part of the ritual, though." Ijane said, shaking her head as she looked at the males.

"I can't believe they were able to just sit there and go through that…" the human said.

"And there's more to come; the next part of the ritual will take place in a few weeks, and every few weeks until all the males have had their hair done properly." Di'sedi told her.

It was rather late when they finally got back to the village, and everyone's stomach was rumbling fiercely with hunger. They were pleasantly surprised when they were met at the village's entrance by pretty much every one of its inhabitants, all bearing trays, pots, pans, baskets, and bags full of food, and several jugs and pitchers full of water, juice and C'ntlip. A great celebration was held at the Matriarch's dwelling, and everyone in the village congratulated Nanku on completing the first part of the ritual, and wished him luck with the rest, and many of the females bore messages of encouragement from their own sons, brothers and various other kin who were hunters, and the young male politely asked if they would bear his thanks back to them.

Finally, after all the food and drink had been consumed, everyone went back home and slept well into the next morning, and for several days after, the only topic of conversation among the Lakeshore Clan was Nanku's plaiting ritual, and speculation about his future as a hunter and the honor and credit he would bring to his family, maternal clan, and future hunting clan and pups.

The only one who didn't seem entirely happy, Grey noticed, was Mjadi. Indeed, she'd overheard several females saying that Mjadi was in a terrible mood, any mention of her son was enough to spark an argument, if not an outright fight.

"It's because she knows her pup will leave her, when he's done with the ritual. He'll go off into the world, and she can't do anything about it; it can make any mother go crazy. I was the same way with Kantra." Ijane said, when the human pointed this out a few days later.

As she lay in bed later that night, Grey couldn't help but wonder if, perhaps, Ijane would get that way when it came time for her to leave, too…

The next few months saw a couple of things happen.

The first was that Mjadi's mood became so bad that she actually had to go before her mother, who had been asked on behalf of the village to intervene. After a hour's talking-to from Di'sedi, Mjadi's attitude improved somewhat; or at least, she wasn't physically assaulting anyone.

Nanku's plaiting ritual continued, and by the four-month mark, his hair was a quarter of the way plaited, much to the admiration of the other males in the kehrite. The second time at the temple saw one of the other males yelp in pain, and so his hair had to be undone, and he and his mother had left the temple in embarrassment and waited quietly beside one of the shuttles until it was time to leave. Ijane had informed Grey that he'd have to wait an entire year before attempting the ritual again.

"How long did yours take?" Grey had asked, eyeing the long locks appraisingly.

"Oh, mine didn't take much time at all; they were much shorter back then." Ijane had replied.

The best thing, as far as Grey was concerned, was that Kantra came back twice more to check on her progress, and seemed genuinely pleased by how she was doing.

"Have you been taking her with you into the forest, Mother?" he'd asked, as they'd sat around the common room table, eating huge slabs of q'yon meat.

"A couple of times; but only to observe and learn tracking skills." his mother had said.

Indeed, Ijane had been taking Grey into the forest; though she did it in the daytime, when tracks and such were easier to see, and had already taught her a great deal about stalking prey, and how to kill it quickly, so it wouldn't suffer or cause her injury.

She'd been able to demonstrate fairly well how much she'd learned when Kantra insisted on going out into the forest the next day, and she'd managed to impress him by finding a small heard of q'yon, though since tracking was their only goal, they left them alone, once they'd found them.

The Arbitrator also oversaw her training sessions while he was there, and even ventured once or twice to the kehrite with her, to see how she fared against the young males, which had resulted in looks of awe from them, that she knew someone so renowned and skilled.

Her swordplay had improved as well, and she was now able to hold her own (defensively, anyway) against Kantra for short periods of time, though Ijane, being stronger, was another matter entirely.

it was on one of these mornings, during Kantra's second visit, that the trio were surprised by Nanku, who came around the side of the house, yawning widely.

"Hey, what's up?" Grey asked, running over to greet her "cousin".

"Well, my mother found out you were back, Cousin Kantra, and she wondered if…if you could give me some training, before you left, and if Aunt Ijane could continue afterwards." the young male said awkwardly, looking at the two adult Yautja.

"I see no harm in such a request. What do you think, Mother?" Kantra asked, looking at Ijane.

"I see no reason why I couldn't take on another student; especially my only nephew." she said.

From then on, Nanku joined Ijane and Grey in their kehrite in the mornings, before going out to join the other males in the woods later on.

"Why do you think your sister wants him to train with you, after all this time?" Grey asked, as she swept the kehrite clean a few weeks later.

"I suspect it's for the same reason Kantra wants me to train you, Luar-ke; to give him an edge when he goes off with the others. It's a pity, though; he'd have had much more of head start if she'd let him come to me earlier." Ijane said thoughtfully.

"Do you think it'll make a difference at this point?" the younger female inquired, remembering that morning's duel, in which she'd given the male a fantastic bruise on his shoulder with one of the wooden swords Ijane had made for them to practice with. She did seem to be somewhat better than Nanku when it came to weapons; but that was probably because she'd been under Ijane's tutelage for several months, while Nanku had only a couple of weeks experience.

"That I can't say; but Mjadi seems to think so, and I want to give my nephew whatever help I can."

"Kind of seems like he's got big shoes to fill, so to speak, what with Kantra being an Arbitrator, and you being famous." Grey said.

"I wasn't _famous_ ; but I was fairly well-known and respected, I'll admit. It's rare that a female makes a lifelong commitment to the Hunt, so whenever it does happen, everyone knows her name."

"I've been meaning to ask; what clan were you in? I know Kantra's in Thwei Luar-ke; were you?" Grey asked, leaning on the broom, which was as tall as she was.

"I wasn't. I belonged to the Thwei N'ritja Clan; it's one of the few all-female hunting clans."

"Sounds neat."

"It was. When I began my basic training, one of the females from Thwei N'ritja came to me and said that I could join them, once I'd finished. When training was over, they were as good as their word, and came for me. I had my Chiva soon after that, and was marked by Eldress Bri'jra, and further trained by her and the others. The style of fighting that you are learning was developed over centuries by the females of the Thwei N'ritja Clan." Ijane informed the human, sounding proud.

"Thwei N'ritja… Blood Dance?" Grey said, translating the name.

"Exactly. The founders of the clan were a group of females who were proficient both in combat and the ritual dances, and they incorporated both into their own extremely efficient fighting style."

Thinking back, Grey realized that many of the movements Ijane had been teaching her were indeed very graceful and dance-like; and, from what she'd seen of Kantra's abilities, she'd taught him the same moves as well.

"Thank you, Ijane, for teaching me." she said, feeling a little awkward, but the Yautja just smiled and let out a small rumble, and Grey went back to sweeping.


End file.
